Order and Might
by N17E2000
Summary: AU: Goku has the same accident that erased his memories and blood-thirsty Saiyan nature...on Planet Vegeta. In a galaxy ruled by power and violence, one boy and his group of outcasts is about to change the world. Featuring humans, Saiyans, and eventually, Namekians.
1. Home

**Prologue**

"How? How did this happen?"

They were in a small house – a man and a woman, facing each other, tense and fearful. The woman was crying. Sniffling, she wiped tears from her wide, dark eyes. "We were visiting your mother, and he was bored. He wanted to go outside and play, so I said okay. I don't know, he must have climbed up the mountain a-and…and…"

Her voice broke. The man shook his head, then reached out to put his arm around her, bring her close. "Stop crying Gine, for gods' sakes."

"He must have tripped over something and then…oh gods," she sobbed.

"It's going to be alright."

"It's not!" she yelled, distraught. "It's not going to be alright, Bardock! He's in a c-co-coma. The doctor said he has no idea when he'll wake up, or even if he'll ever wake up."

The man looked over to the small bed occupying a corner of the room. On it lay a small boy, his eyes closed in what appeared to be a deep sleep. His head was wrapped in thick bandages, out of which poked dark, messy hair, its spikes mimicking the pattern of the older man's style.

"Let's just take him home, and…"

"We can't," Gine interrupted. "The doctor said it could be dangerous to move him."

"Well we can't leave him here."

"Master Gohan said I could stay here as long as Kakarot is in this condition."

Bardock paused. The man in question was sitting at the foot of the bed, eyes shut in a deep meditation. He bent his head towards his wife, lowering his voice, "I don't want to leave you alone with him."

"I think I can handle an old human," Gine snapped, then began to whimper again. A new stream of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Bardock rubbed his face wearily. "This is a nightmare."

"When are you leaving?"

"Two weeks."

There was silence. Both knew that nothing could be done about that. Bardock had very little choice in when he left the planet and when he returned.

"He'll wake up. I know it."

"Bardock, don't…"

"No, I promise you Gine. He'll wake up."

 **Chapter 1**

 _Nine years later…_

Bardock stepped off the spaceship at the main landing zone of Planet Vegeta, the red, sun-burned home of the Saiyans, and smiled broadly. It was good to be home. After a stint of nearly eight months on missions with his crew for the Planet Trade Organization, he would finally get to see his family again.

"Hey!" Bardock turned at the feeling of a hand on his broad shoulder. Toma, his crew mate and best friend, was smiling at him. "Say hi to Gine for me."

"Sure thing. I'll call you when I get sick of the kid."

"Let me have him," Toma chuckled. "Better than my little brat."

Bardock laughed at that, and the two friends took to the sky, each heading to their homes and families.

It was a long flight out to Arkisbe from the landing zone – a good four hours, though Bardock wasn't going at top speed.

Arkisbe was an average-sized town out in the North plains, nestled at the fork of the Maanqe river, four miles from where it split into its eastern and western branches. Because of its position, Arkisbe was was one of the few places on Planet Vegeta that was conducive to the growth of produce and was therefore mostly farmland.

It was also one of the few places outside the larger cities where humans were integrated into the Saiyan population. Saiyans and humans had shared Planet Vegeta since time immemorial. The two species, while distinct, shared a common ancestor and had a similar anatomy. Humans outnumbered Saiyans almost 2-to-1, but Saiyans ruled the planet due to their superior strength. In most villages in the plains, deserts and mountains of the planet, humans and Saiyans lived in adjacent settlements and in most cases, shared food and water resources, but interaction was limited. Arkisbe's acres of farmland, however, demanded manpower that the Saiyans of the area could not provide on their own, and so humans and Saiyans worked side-by-side, planting and providing for themselves and their neighbors.

Arkisbe was Bardock's wife Gine's hometown, and he had settled there after their marriage in accordance with Saiyan tradition. His own hometown, Ter-kader, was located the foot of a long mountain range, halfway between the lush plains and the sweltering desert. It was in Ter-kader where his youngest son, Kakarot, had taken a fall down a mountainside and cracked his skull open when he was just two years old.

Bardock sighed deeply as his thoughts turned to his son. Ever since the accident, Kakarot had not been quite right. It wasn't just that the boy had woken with no memory of himself or his family, or that he was a little slow. Bardock's brother liked to say that no son of his was ever going to be a scientist, and he wasn't wrong. Bardock didn't mind. He didn't need his sons to be scientists and didn't expect them to be. As far as he was concerned, as long as the boys could read, write and count, they would be fine.

No, it wasn't that the boy was slow. He was _strange._ He was always smiling and laughing; no matter what the situation was, nothing seemed to anger or upset him. For a Saiyan, that was practically unheard of. Even Gine was easily riled up, and she was the softest Saiyan woman Bardock had ever known.

That wasn't even the worst of it. The boy had no concept of what was and wasn't socially acceptable. He consistently disobeyed Bardock's orders openly: no matter how many times the man had explained to his son that he was obliged to listen to his father, Kakarot simply did what was in that funny little head of his. He befriended humans, talked to animals like as though they could understand him, and was always asking people if they were boys or girls. And that was only _after_ Bardock had threatened to hang him up by his tail if he grabbed someone's crotch again.

As the green plains of Arkisbe came into view, Bardock began to descend, landing right in front of his house. He opened the door with the key he always kept tucked in a small pocket he'd sown into the bodysuit that was part of his soldier's uniform.

Kakarot was sitting at the large, low table in the center of the room, bent over some papers, a small pencil held tightly in his chubby fist. Next to him sat the bane of Bardock's existence.

"Boys."

"Master Bardock!" A little boy with a shiny bald head and no nose got up and came round, giving the Saiyan man a deep, respectful bow. "It's nice to see you again. Welcome home."

Bardock sighed heavily. "Krillin," he replied tersely.

"Hello father," Kakarot waved at him, not bothering to get up.

What was worse, Bardock wondered, the fact that a human boy was a near-permanent part of his home life, or that that same boy had given him a more respectful welcome than his own son?

Krillin cleared his throat nervously. "Well, I should probably be going home," he said, going back to the table and collecting his papers.

"But Krillin!" Kakarot protested. "You said you'd help me with this math homework."

"It's hardly homework Goku," – Bardock bristled at the hated nickname – "You're just copying times tables. You're not even solving anything!"

"Okay, I guess you're right," Kakarot conceded as his friend made for the door. "Bye Krillin!"

"Bye Goku!" the human boy said as he stood at the door's threshold. "Goodbye Master Bardock," he added, bowing again.

Bardock nodded silently, shutting the door firmly as the boy scurried away. Then he turned to his son.

"Hi!" Kakarot smiled broadly. "Are you hungry? We have some fish, but I was going to have it as a snack later."

Bardock was home.

 **A/N: I got this idea a while back and just had to get it written down. Please let me know what you think of my premise! I'm very excited about this story and already have a lot of ideas for it, but fair warning, updates on this will probably be a bit slow since I am already working on my first story, Consequences.**


	2. Vacation Plans

"I'm going to get some rest," Bardock headed into the kitchen, grabbing a jug of water and chugging it down. Then he retraced his steps to the main room of the house where his son was sitting. "Is your brother here?"

Kakarot shook his head. "Raditz left a long time ago. But," the boy said suddenly, his face splitting into a wide grin, "I know when he's coming back!"

Bardock watched as his mini-me jumped off the chair and ran into the small adjacent room that served as a shared bedroom for him and his older brother. A few seconds later he was back, holding up what looked like a large writing pad.

"Look!" Kakarot waved it proudly up at his father, standing on his tip toes in an attempt to close the towering gap between them – he just barely came to Bardock's knees.

Bardock bent down to take it from him, flipping through the pages carefully. "It's a calendar," he said.

"Yeah! Launch helped me make it. See," Kakarot floated up to his father's shoulder, pointing at the points of interest, "she showed me how I could mark what day you leave, and then count the days until you come back. Isn't that cool?!"

"I thought I told you to stay away from that Launch girl," Bardock said annoyed as he handed back the offending calendar to his son.

"I like Launch," Kakarot said matter-of-factly.

"She's _psychotic."_ Launch was one of the few humans in Arkisbe with a truly bad reputation. Most of the time she was fairly mild-mannered young woman, but every now and then she'd have a fit where she would completely lose all sense and control, attacking everyone and everything in sight. They were completely unpredictable, although Kakarot seemed to think otherwise.

"She's fine as long as she doesn't sneeze. She's really nice actually."

Bardock shook his head. "One of these days she's going to snap your neck, and you'll never see it coming."

The statement had no impact on the 11-year-old, who simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "You seem grumpy," he said. "You should take your nap now."

Bardock gritted his teeth. Most days he'd have smacked his son upside the head for that, but as it happened he _was_ tired from the long trip back home. So he simply grunted in response before heading to the room he shared with his wife, stripping down and plopping onto the bed face first.

"Sleep tight!" Kakarot called out from the other room.

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Bardock woke to the feeling of a soft cheek nuzzling against the crook of his neck and hot breath warming his skin. He cracked one eye open to see his wife curled next to him, smiling gently.

"Welcome back," her soft voice greeted.

In one swift movement Bardock lifted himself up and flipped himself on top of his wife, grinning down at her wolfishly in the now darkened room.

Gine laughed, the tinkling sound like music in his ears. He leaned down to give her a long, deep kiss. When he finally let go she said, "We can't do this now."

"Oh yes we can," Bardock murmured into her ear.

Gine shook her head. "Kakarot is very hungry and he's waiting for us to come out to dinner."

With a loud growl, Bardock reared up and off his wife. "Damn that brat!"

As if on cue, Kakarot came wandering into the room, clutching his stomach and looking absolutely pitiful. "I'm hungry," he moaned. "Hurry up, please!"

Grumbling, Bardock got up off the bed, his wife right behind him. "Put some pants on," she ordered as she moved past him, smiling slyly. Then she reached down to her son, picking him up and carrying him out of the room.

A few minutes later Bardock came out in a pair of loose gray pants that hit him mid-calf to find his wife and son already eating at the table that Kakarot had been studying on just a few hours ago. There were no papers on it now. Instead, it was heavy with several large platters of food from which the family would eat together.

The patriarch sat cross-legged on the floor next to his wife, grabbing a loaf of bread and digging in, eating in comfortable silence until the edge of his hunger had been sated. Then he turned to his wife. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?" he asked, his mouth half full with bread and bean paste.

"Hmm." Gine chewed intently as she considered the question. "Raditz was home about three months ago. He stayed for two weeks. That was nice." She sighed at the thought of her eldest son. "It'll be a while now before he's back."

Bardock nudged her with an elbow. "I'm staying for six weeks," he grinned.

Gine's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?!"

Bardock nodded. It was by far the longest vacation he'd had in at least two years.

"That's amazing!" Gine exclaimed. "You'll still be here when Raditz comes home! Oh, I can't believe I'll have all my boys together at last!"

"Does this mean I have to stop going to Master Roshi's now?" Kakarot interrupted.

His parents turned to stare at him. "Well," Gine said, giving her son an innocent expression, "it would be much better for you to train with your father than with Master Roshi. After all, your father's the strongest fighter in all the East. You want to grow up to be big and strong like him, don't you?"

"Yeah…," Kakarot conceded, concern still marring his childish features. "But if I don't go to Master Roshi's, I won't get to see Krillin."

"Good…ouch!" Bardock glanced over to see his wife shooting him a nasty look to go with the hard pinch she'd given him just then.

"I'm sure you'll see Krillin around town," Gine said reassuringly. "He can always come visit us. And if you behave with your father, I'll take you for a visit, how's that?"

Bardock focused his gaze on the food in front of him. He wasn't in the mood to argue about his son's questionable choices and annoying friends. There wasn't much point anyway. He'd long ago lost the battle over Krillin.

After Kakarot had woken from his coma and returned home, it became immediately obvious that he was not like other Saiyan children his age. The other kids would fight each other tooth and nail, scratching and biting each other indiscriminately as a sort of practice run for their adult lives as warriors. But Kakarot would sit to the side, watching them with a curious yet uncomprehending expression on his face. If one of the children approached him, he would push them away, but that was about as rough as he got.

Later, when he got a little older and had learned a few basic fighting moves from his father and brother, Kakarot had appointed himself the guardian of the village's runts. And, much to Bardock's dismay, its stray animals as well. Every time he came home, he would find a baby dinosaur or tiny bird or, one time, a rather large mammalian creature that Bardock was certain was a kind of rodent, settled in a corner being fed scraps by his youngest son.

Then he'd met Krillin.

It was the same story as always. Two Saiyan boys had ganged up on the then-six-year-old human boy. Kakarot had immediately rushed to his defense, pushing the two boys away and attempting to fight them off. The boys were bigger though, and all that happened was that Kakarot got the beating that was supposed to be Krillin's.

"Are you alright?" Krillin asked when the boys had gotten bored and wandered off. He helped Kakarot up, wiping away the dirt from his clothes and hair.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Kakarot smiled. "Those boys were really mean."

"Yeah, they were," Krillin said with a sigh. Then he noticed the tail waving happily behind his new acquaintance. "Hey, you're a Saiyan too!"

"Uh-huh. You're human, right?" Krillin nodded. "Well, those boys shouldn't be mean to you just because you're human."

"Uh." This was a new idea for Krillin.

"Wanna come play with me?" Kakarot offered.

Krillin stared at him in disbelief. Saiyan kids didn't play with human kids – or at least, their idea of play was significantly more violent than human children could withstand.

Suddenly, Kakarot bent forward towards him, and Krillin darted back instinctively. "Where's your nose?" Kakarot asked, completely unfazed by the boy's obvious discomfort. "It's gone! Gosh, I can't believe you don't have a nose!"

That comment snapped Krillin out of his fearful daze. Scowling, the boy shoved his new friend. "Yeah, well at least my hair doesn't look like I was hit by lightning!" he retorted.

Kakarot giggled. "You don't even have hair!"

By the time Bardock had returned from his missions, the two boys had become almost inseparable, to the point where Gine was inviting Krillin over to meals with the family. Krillin's own parents had died when he was a baby, which turned out to be the perfect sob story for the child to ingratiate himself with his wife and her bleeding heart.

"We can't have a human in the house all the damn time," Bardock had pointed out. "What'll people say about us? That we're adopting some human child? It's bad enough Kakarot plays with him all the time!"

"The boy doesn't have a _mother,_ Bardock," Gine had said. "How can you be so cruel?"

With Krillin came what was left of his family: his crazy sister Launch, who bounced from job to job around town, and his ancient great-uncle Master Roshi, an old martial artist who'd retired to an island in the north long before Krillin had been born.

It was this Master Roshi who, when Kakarot was nine and showing increasing potential in his strength and skill, had offered to train both boys in traditional martial arts. He had the good sense to make the offer while Bardock and Raditz were both gone – a Saiyan being trained by a human, of all things, was unheard of, and neither would have agreed. But Gine, for all intents and purposes a single mother for months at a time, had taken the opportunity to occupy her rambunctious baby boy with something that could potentially be of use to him.

Bardock had practically had a fit when he came back to find that his son – _his son!_ – was being trained by some human man so wizened by time his face looked like a topographical map. There had been a lot of arguing and yelling and, on Kakarot's part, laughing, much to Bardock's chagrin, before they'd come to the tentative agreement that Kakarot could spend time with Master Roshi and Krillin so long as Bardock and Raditz were both not home. Once either man was back, they would take over the training of the boy in the Saiyan way.

"What else is new?" Bardock asked. He'd had enough of Krillin for the day.

"Turi had a baby," Gine said. "And, oh! This is interesting. We have some new people in town."

Bardock turned to her, an eyebrow raised. This was news indeed. Arkisbe was a big town, but not so big that new residents were a regular occurrence.

"Humans," Gine continued, and Bardock immediately turned back to his food. "A young man and his two little siblings. He's a big guy, strong, very handsome," Gine said mischievously, earning her a disgruntled look from her husband. She batted her eyelashes at him coyly in return. "They say his siblings are twins."

"Twins?" The ability to carry more than one child at a time was a uniquely human trait, and as such was the source of much fascination among Saiyans.

"Well that's what I've heard, but they're a boy and a girl, and I always thought twins had to be the same sex."

"Yeah, I think so too." He paused to take another mouthful of bread and meat, then asked, "What's Turi's baby like?"

"It's a boy this time. No tail," – Bardock grunted in disdain – "but a lot stronger than the girl at least. He's very sweet."

"See," Bardock said, looking pointedly at his son, "this is what comes of associating with humans."

"Huh?" Kakarot looked up from the food, his face smeared with bean paste and flecks of the spicy sauce he was dipping his meat in. Clearly he hadn't been listening to a word his parents had said since the conversation had turned away from Krillin and Master Roshi.

* * *

Later that night – much later, when Kakarot was fast asleep in his room and Bardock and Gine had reunited to their hearts' content – husband and wife lay together in the familiar comfort of their room, warm bodies intertwined on their old, slightly bumpy mattress, hearts beating in time to each other.

Gine propped herself up on her elbows, bringing her tail forward to tickle her husband's face. Bardock had just been about to fall asleep, his droopy eyelids lifting to concentrate on his wife's face.

"Listen," she said, shifting towards him. "Now that you're going to be here for some time, I really want you to make an effort with Kakarot."

Bardock groaned. "I _do_ make an effort…"

"It's the wrong kind of effort. You treat him the way you treat Raditz and it just doesn't work. Kakarot isn't like Raditz, much as you wish he was. He needs a different approach. You need to be more patient with him, more flexible."

Bardock sat up in a huff. "I'm not going to change how I behave on account of a child. It's ridiculous! He adjusts to how we are, not the other way around."

"You could at least try!" Gine protested. "Maybe if you made the least attempt to get on his level, he'd look forward to you coming home instead of crying about how he won't get to see Master Roshi anymore."

"You'd solve that problem by not letting him go to Master Roshi's in the first place."

"And how do you suggest I do that, Bardock?" Gine was sitting up now, glaring at her husband. "I'm at work all day. There's no one to stop him from doing whatever he likes or going wherever he likes."

"But you encourage it though," Bardock retorted. "You let that Krillin boy come over whenever he likes, you never say anything when he runs off with him, you never punish him…"

"What am I supposed to do?!" Gine's voice was rising. "Someone has to train him and teach him, and gods know you're not around to do it…"

"That's not my fault!"

"I know, I know," Gine forced herself to lower her voice, putting an arm around her husband. "I know you'd be here all the time if you could. But the fact is you can't, so we need to come up with alternatives."

"There's plenty of alternatives that don't involve humans," Bardock said. "He could go to the school here, with Saiyan children, Saiyan teachers…"

"Oh please, that's hardly a school," Gine said, waving a hand in dismissal. "It's two old ladies with over 40 kids running around like truants. You know what Kakarot's like, if you don't keep your eye on him he'll just wander off and do his own thing. He needs personal attention, someone who'll stay on him and explain things in a way he'll understand. That's what Roshi gives him." Bardock sighed heavily. This was not at all what he wanted to hear. "Look, it's not ideal," Gine said, sensing his distress. "I wish there was a Saiyan master we could send him to, but there isn't. But," she leaned forward, embracing him and pressing her nose into his cheek, "now you're here. You're his father. You can do so much more for him than that old man ever could, and once he realizes that he'll worship the ground you walk on, I guarantee it."

Bardock leaned into his wife's embrace, pushing her gently back into the bed and resting his head against her shoulder so she could stroke his hair. "You just need to be a little easier on him," Gine whispered. "Be patient. He's a quick learner, you just need to capture his attention, that's all."

"I'm starting to think you like him more than you like me," Bardock grumbled into her chest.

Gine laughed. "Oh please. You're both just playing second for my baby Raditz."


	3. Mystery Mission

Raditz strode out onto the space station with his crew, their armor battered and hair matted with mud and blood. Still, they'd managed to complete their mission without sustaining any serious injuries, which was a coup in and of itself.

"I'm starving!" the woman walking beside him said. "Let's hope they have something decent in the mess hall today."

Raditz snorted. "Not likely, at least not for us."

They were headed for the chambers reserved for low-level fighters on the Planet Trade Organization's stations, where they could shower and get some sleep before their next assignment.

"I call lower bunk!" one of the crew members called out, crashing heavily onto the thin mattress.

"Alright guys," their leader began. Cabe was about 5'8", average height for a Saiyan, and well into his forties. Raditz had been on his crew for ten years and in that time he had changed a lot; a broad-shouldered, muscular man with a hard face had replaced the skinny, baby-faced 16-year-old who had first joined.

"You've got three hours to rest before we head over to mess and then get our instructions for the next mission. I'm gonna take a shower," he gestured to the nearby bathroom door with a thumb. "You guys can rock-paper-scissors for who goes next."

Just as he was turning around to leave, the door swung open, slamming hard into the wall.

"General Nappa!" Cabe's eyes widened in shock at this unprecedented visit. Quickly he gave the general a low bow, then stood firmly to attention. The other crew members, Raditz included, were all on one knee.

"At ease, kiddos."

General Nappa was a close confidante of the king and rumored to be the strongest Saiyan after the king and his heir. He was now well into his seventies, but his Saiyan genes meant that he was still at the prime of his power and strength. Despite his status and strength, he was a fairly friendly, cheerful man off the battlefield, but if you crossed him, he wouldn't hesitate to snap your neck. As far as any of them knew, he _never_ visited the third-class quarters.

Slapping Cabe heartily on the back, Nappa said, "I'm looking for Bardock's boy."

Raditz felt himself blush. This was not the first time he was referred to as "Bardock's boy" instead of by his actual name. That was the price of being related to a man who was basically a living legend among the third-class Saiyans. Still, he would never have imagined someone like Nappa would know his father by name.

"Raditz?" Cabe said, pointing at him. Raditz peeked up cautiously.

Nappa gestured to him with a broad, calloused hand. "You're coming with me, boy." Raditz stood slowly, approaching the general with no little amount of trepidation. What could a man like Nappa possibly want with him?

Nappa turned on his heel and walked right out as suddenly and swiftly as he came in. Raditz followed, turning to Cabe as he left, eyebrows darting up desperately as he silently begged his leader to save him. Cabe could only shrug, mouthing a silent "sorry," at his young charge.

"You know," Nappa said as he led Raditz down the hall and past the low-level soldiers' rooms, "your father was the youngest Saiyan to ever lead his own crew."

"Yes, I know," Raditz replied. He was walking a few steps behind Nappa out of respect for the older man. "If I can be frank, I'm surprised _you_ know of my father."

"I make it my business to know," the general said. "You know who held that record before your father?"

"Who?"

Nappa turned to look back at the young man and pointed a thumb at himself. "You're looking at him kid. 'Course that was a long time ago now, and it's been a while since I've had my own crew," he said, turning away with the air of one content to hand over the torch to the next generation. "Actually, your father was the one who suggested you for this job."

Raditz was more confused than ever. His father had actually recommended him to _the_ General Nappa? His father _knew_ General Nappa? "What job is this, exactly?"

"All in good time, kid."

The two continued along the hall, turning into an unfamiliar corridor that was clearly reserved for the bigger, nicer rooms. Finally, Nappa stopped at a door and knocked.

"Enter," a commanding voice came from inside.

Nappa opened the door much more slowly and gently than he had Raditz's dorm room, making his way to the center of the room and standing at attention. "Your highness."

Raditz stood behind him, stunned. This was Prince Vegeta's room.

Prince Vegeta. The Saiyan king's firstborn son and heir to the throne of the planet. Raditz knew, of course, that the prince was in Frieza's army, receiving "special training" from the galaxy's overlord, whatever that entailed. But Raditz had never imagined that he shared the same space as the prince, or that he would ever be brought into his presence. He was just a low-level soldier, a third-class Saiyan and, although he was a good fighter, he had yet to achieve anything of note. There were thousands of others just like him. Why was _he_ here?

Prince Vegeta turned towards him, pulling his armor over his head and running his eyes slowly over the young man. Raditz had remembered himself just in time and was kneeling behind Nappa. Frowning slightly, Vegeta placed a scouter, that device that allowed soldiers to communicate with one another and assess each other's power levels, over one eye and trained it at Raditz. The device instantly beeped, and Vegeta snorted in disappointment at what he saw.

"His power level is 1000," Vegeta said, addressing Nappa. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Well prince, that's quite good for a third-class," Nappa reasoned. "You can't compare him to yourself."

"Certainly not."

"I'm sure he'll do very well for this task. He comes highly recommended, and I believe he has a lot of potential."

"Yes well, from what you told me about his father, I was expecting more. It doesn't matter," Vegeta said, waving a hand dismissively. "I don't care for any of this."

"So you find him acceptable?" Nappa asked.

"Yes, fine," Vegeta replied, clearly irritated by the conversation. "How old is he, anyway?"

Nappa turned back to Raditz. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six," Raditz replied, trying to hide his annoyance at the prince's utter dismissal of him. 1000 was very good for a third-class Saiyan of his experience, and frankly if he wanted to be torn down he'd go hang out with his father and uncle.

"He's twenty-six, prince," Nappa repeated.

"Yes, yes. That's just fine."

"Alright Raditz, see here, what we're doing is…"

"Wait!" Vegeta interrupted the general suddenly, his air of indifference dissipating. "Don't tell him anything just yet. We have to discuss this, and frankly I'd rather tell him this information at home." He paused a moment, then still addressing Nappa, asked, "When will he be planet-side?"

Nappa turned to Raditz expectantly.

"Three weeks," Raditz replied.

"Three weeks," Nappa repeated.

"Fine," the prince said. He moved over to the nightstand sitting in the corner of the room and took something small from the drawer. Striding to where Raditz was still kneeling, he stretched out a gloved hand, opening it to reveal what looked like a small coin.

Raditz looked up at Nappa questioningly. The older man nodded, and Raditz hesitantly reached out and took the coin from his prince's hand.

"That coin," Nappa explained, "carries the insignia of the royal house on one side and the stamp of the prince on the other. If you bring it to the castle, they'll let you in to see him. But you have to have it with you, so don't lose it, okay?"

"You want me to come to the castle?" Raditz said, bewildered.

Nappa shrugged. "That's the best place to discuss this."

"He can come to the palace on the 24th," Vegeta was putting on a red cape over his armor, and turned to give Nappa a pointed look that was clearly very familiar to the general.

"You're dismissed," Nappa informed Raditz.

Slowly, the confused young man stood up and stumbled to the door. "Um…"

"Go down the hall, take a left and keep walking," Nappa said.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Don't lose that coin!" Nappa called out behind him.

And so Raditz found himself out in an unfamiliar hallway, a coin clutched tightly in his fist and sense of foreboding seeping into his brain.

 _What the hell was that all about?_

* * *

With Raditz gone, Nappa turned his full attention to the prince, his royal charge. He'd been Prince Vegeta's personal guardian since the boy was first sent to train under Lord Frieza, the head of the PTO and ruler of the galaxy, at the age of eight. Prince Vegeta was 24 years old now, and Nappa liked to think he could read the boy's mood like the back of his hand.

It wasn't hard, since his most common mood was pissed off.

Sure enough, the Prince's brow was deeply furrowed, a vein throbbing dangerously in his temple. "This is ridiculous, Nappa."

"Calm yourself, prince. You don't want to go into Frieza's court so obviously upset."

"It's an insult!" the young man fumed. "To suggest that we're somehow not good enough…"

"You can't let him get to you," Nappa counselled. "Don't let him get under your skin like this."

Vegeta took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. With a huff he gave up and marched towards the door, cape flying behind him. "Come Nappa. We don't want to be late for _Lord Frieza."_

* * *

"Prince Vegeta."

"Prince Zarbon," Vegeta returned to the man sitting, legs crossed, on a luxurious couch in front of him.

Zarbon was much like Vegeta. Second in line to the throne of his planet, Lacerta, Zarbon too had been sent by the royal family to receive special training under Lord Frieza. Now in his early 40s, Zarbon was one of the strongest fighters in Frieza's army, far surpassing Prince Vegeta himself. With his pale green skin and long, braided hair, the Lacertan prince was known to very vain, and he exuded an easy grace and confident demeanor.

Sitting next to him on the couch while they waited to be admitted into Frieza's presence, Vegeta couldn't help the stab of jealousy that always plagued him whenever he crossed Zarbon's path. When he'd first arrived on the ship as a child, Zarbon had been charged with his instruction, and the older royal had never ceased to point out just how unrefined Vegeta was compared to himself. "One would more easily believe that you were the prince's bodyguard than the prince himself," Zarbon would mock.

Fortunately, the two were not left alone for long. Soon after Vegeta and Nappa arrived, they were called into Frieza's presence.

Inside the Arcosian lord's private quarters was a long dining table heavy with an array of delicacies from across the galaxy. Frieza himself sat the head of the table, a wine glass in one hand and a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Frieza had a strange fascination with royalty. He himself had taken over ruling the galaxy from his father, King Cold, and was therefore a prince in his own right. Yet he took a perverse pleasure in personally subjugating the sons and daughters of his strongest allies. Vegeta and Zarbon were just two of his royal acquisitions; there had been others before and there would certainly be others after.

Every week Frieza held these elaborate dinners for his most high-ranking fighters. At his left sat Dodoria, his right-hand man. Dodoria was a huge, pink creature with ungainly spikes protruding from his head and shoulders. He looked like a rock and was about as dumb as one, but he was unshakingly loyal to Frieza and was a formidable fighter to boot. Next to him sat Captain Ginyu, the leader of Frieza's most elite warrior crew, the Ginyu Force, along with its other members.

As princes, Zarbon and Vegeta, along with Nappa in his position as royal guardian, were given the privilege of sitting directly to Frieza's right. Or at least, they _were,_ but today there were two strangers seated in the chairs normally occupied by the two royals.

"Ah, Vegeta, Zarbon. Let me introduce you to our newest allies." Frieza's smirk made Vegeta's stomach turn – anything that pleased the Arcosian _that_ much was bound to be bad news.

"This is the Princess Amara of the Planet Hotsu," Frieza said, gesturing towards the young girl in the seat that was usually Zarbon's. The princess couldn't have been much older than ten, with a thick head of deep sea-blue hair tied up in heavy pigtails, skin the color of wet sand and big, golden eyes. Vegeta couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was a pretty girl, and clearly had been bartered off to Frieza as part of the agreement he'd struck. The apprehension in her eyes was unmistakable.

"And this," Frieza continued, "is her guardian, Tonsa."

Tonsa was a much more imposing presence than the little princess. She sat next to her young charge, tall and proud, her dark face fixed in an intense gaze, green eyes focused on the wall across from her. Her matching green-black hair was tied up high on her head.

Vegeta, Nappa, and Zarbon bowed low in greeting the two women before taking their seats.

"I was just telling the little princess that she mustn't be embarrassed at having a guardian with her on the ship. After all, our dear Prince Vegeta, strong Saiyan warrior that he is, can't go anywhere without his Nappa," Frieza said mockingly, his gaze meeting Vegeta's across the table.

The prince burned at the comment, could see the Ginyu force exchange smirks at his expense.

"It is my honor and privilege to serve the prince wherever he goes," Nappa piped up dutifully.

"Indeed." Frieza returned his attention to the princess at his side. "Of course the Hotsus don't train their royals nearly as well as you Saiyans do, but that will change with Princess Amara gracing us with her presence." He gave her a pointed look.

"Yes, Lord Frieza," she replied quietly.

"Good," Frieza looked enormously pleased with himself. "Now, we mustn't let this good food go to waste."

The evening passed as usual, with Ginyu bragging about his team's latest accomplishments, Zarbon dispensing diplomatic flattery right and left, Dodoria grunting in agreement with everything Frieza said, and Vegeta sitting in sullen silence. He had to admit though, he was intrigued by this new addition to their group. All he knew about Planet Hotsu was that it was very far away and it was dark there almost all the time. What power its people had, and why Frieza had taken such an interest in the planet to the point where he'd taken on their princess, Vegeta could only guess.

As it would happen, he would find out soon enough.


	4. Town Meetings

Bardock woke up the next morning with a sense of contentment and goodwill towards his fellow man. There truly was no place like home, the pale pink morning sky, the craggy mountains in the horizon, light reflecting off them in purple and blue and gray, and the smell of breakfast cooking from the kitchen. Waking up in his own bedroom, in his own house.

Bardock was proud of this house. Life was hard on Vegeta. It had always been hard – rain was scarce and periodic droughts meant that just feeding yourself could be difficult and expensive. In the cities in the south surrounding the royal palace you could get products from off-planet, but out here in the villages people were dependent on what they could produce themselves. Here, you had to grow your own crops and butcher your own livestock, and meat was even harder to come by. With all of life's other expenses, there were many in Arkisbe and all over the planet who went to bed hungry, or worse, out in the open in the cold desert night.

That had been Bardock once. His father, a low-level soldier in the PTO, had died when he was 15, two years after his younger brother had been born. He'd been their main breadwinner; Bardock's mother worked at a clothing factory and didn't make enough money to support two Saiyan children with their insatiable appetites and sudden growth spurts.

How many nights had he gone without dinner so his baby brother could have something to eat? How many times had he crawled up the mountains to collect rocks to mend their crumbling home? How many hours had his mother spent painstakingly darning his old clothes so his brother would have something to wear?

As soon as he hit his final growth spurt at 16, Bardock signed up to the PTO. He worked himself to near death time and time again, determined to climb the ladder as fast as he possibly could so that his family could live a decent life. By the time he was 25 years old he was leading his own crew, replacing General Nappa as the youngest Saiyan to ever do so in the history of Planet Vegeta's agreement with the PTO.

He had to admit, he was proud of himself. He'd raised his brother Turles to be a great fighter, and between the two of them his mother was living comfortably in a fully reconstructed house in Ter-kader. Raditz was strong and fierce, if not as talented as a soldier as Bardock would have hoped, and Kakarot was…

Well, he was alive and healthy, and that was something to be thankful for.

Pulling up yesterday's gray pants, Bardock went out to greet his wife and son and begin the first full day of his vacation.

"Mornin'," he offered his wife, sidling up next to where she was cooking beans and eggs on the stove.

Gine smiled up at him. "Aren't you something to wake up to?"

"Mmm," he agreed, reaching out with one hand to stroke her hair. Then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "What is he doing?"

Gine looked over her shoulder to where Kakarot was standing in the main room, alternating between stretching and jumping with a look of intense concentration on his face. "Morning exercises," she explained.

" _This_ is what that old man passes off as training?" Bardock snickered.

"Listen," Gine turned on him, sticking her spatula in his face, "do not make fun of his friends while you're training him today, alright? He doesn't like it."

"Fine!" Bardock huffed.

"Just please be nice to him," Gine said wearily. "For me."

Bardock sighed heavily. Just then, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," he announced, thankful for the excuse to get out of this conversation.

The person at the door made all sense of goodwill fly right out of him.

"For the love of all the gods," Bardock yelled, "what are _you_ doing here at this hour?!"

"Um," Krillin trembled under the wrath of the Saiyan man. "Milk delivery?" He pulled a jug of the stuff out of the cart he was dragging along behind him and held it up to Bardock as a form of explanation. And shield.

 _"Why?"_

"It's my j-job, master," Krillin stammered.

Gine and Kakarot came to the door to see what the commotion was about, and the Saiyan boy crawled between his father's legs to greet his friend.

"Krillin is in charge of milk delivery now father!" Kakarot said, taking the jug from his friend.

"I thought he worked at the farms with you?" Bardock continued to glare at the offending human.

"I had to take another job," Krillin explained.

"He's a very hardworking young man," Gine said, smiling down at him and nudging her husband pointedly with an elbow. "And he's very busy, so he needs to be on his way. Isn't that right Krillin?"

Krillin nodded enthusiastically, eyes wide with gratitude as he handed over the second jug to Kakarot and grabbed at his cart.

"Bye Krillin!" Kakarot called out as his friend hurried away. "See you later!"

"Launch lost her job a few months ago and she hasn't been able to get a new one," Gine told Bardock as she closed the door. "Krillin's having to pick up the slack."

"Oh." Bardock felt a little guilty now, but he wasn't about to let it show. "Well, you could have warned me."

* * *

A few hours later, Bardock ventured out into the town, stretching in the mid-morning light. Gine had gone to her job at the butchery right after breakfast and Kakarot had followed, heading out to his day job at the nearby farms. He'd be finishing up soon, so this would be a good time to take a leisurely walk around town before going to pick him up. No armor, no scouters, just him in traditional Vegetan clothing – loose pants and tunic – out in the warm noonday sun.

Arkisbe had a small local market that formed the town center, surrounded by the houses of the Saiyan families to the east, near the mountains, and the houses of the human families to the west, bordering the farmlands.

The town center wasn't much to speak of really. The market was composed of small stalls where mostly human peddlers sold basic necessities; fruits and vegetables, flour, eggs, thread, cloth – things that would get you through a few days before you could go to the large market outside town where there was a bakery and the butchery Gine worked in and all sorts of goods. It was here too, where town elders would get together to discuss problems and settle differences, and where children would get together to play.

At this time of day there were very few people out and about. Adults and children alike were at their jobs, and Bardock walked along the dusty paths towards the market in an easy stillness.

"Miss Yuna!" he called out as he neared the market. "Miss Peach!"

Two elderly human women in long dresses and little scarves over their salt-and-pepper curls looked up from where they were sitting on little stools in front of their stalls and waved at him. In their eighties, the two women weren't that old by Saiyan standards, but humans aged faster than Saiyans did. A 90-year-old Saiyan had the looks and energy of a 30-year-old human, whereas a human of the same age was already old and frail. Bardock himself was in his late 50s but would easily pass for a human in his early twenties.

"Ooooh, Master Bardock! We heard you were back in town," Miss Yuna said as he approached.

Bardock's respectful bow to the two women hid the smirk on his face. They were Arkisbe's biggest gossips and had an uncanny ability to smell news as it happened. It was good entertainment.

The Saiyan man chatted politely with the two women about developments in town for a few minutes before talk turned to Arkisbe's most infamous human, sparking Bardock's interest in spite of himself.

"Gine did say Launch lost her last job. Which one was that again?"

"The bar," Miss Peach said. "We heard some Saiyan man tried to grope her so she grabbed one of those steel barstools they have and hit him in the face with it."

"That's all?" Bardock laughed. "I should think that happens every day in that dump."

"She broke his nose!" Miss Yuna waggled her eyebrows at him.

Bardock's eyes widened in shock. Saiyans were nearly impossible to break. "Gods, how hard did she hit the man?"

"I heard the stool broke!" Miss Peach said with an air of authority. "Poor girl, now no one will hire her."

"Hmph!" Miss Yuna said again. "She's always been a troublemaker, that Launch! The only one I feel sorry for is that poor brother of hers, running around at all hours trying to make a living for the both of them."

"It's so kind of your boy to be his friend Master Bardock," Miss Peach smiled.

Bardock resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Speaking of my boy, I should probably get going." Then he smiled, "You ladies have something I could take for him as a snack?"

"Oh! I have something very special!" Miss Yuna sang, getting up heavily to toddle over to her stall. Bardock waited patiently as the elderly woman dug around before she finally pulled out a small bag and hoisted it triumphantly onto the counter. "Only the best for our Saiyan soldiers," she announced as she opened it.

"Apples!" Bardock grinned. Apples were hard to come by, only growing in certain places up in the mountains. Kakarot _loved_ apples, and Gine did want him to be nicer to his son. "I'll take two."

Apples in hand, Bardock continued on his leisurely stroll towards the farms. When he neared them he took to the sky, the better to find Kakarot.

Sure enough, the bird's-eye view allowed him to easily pinpoint the shock of spiky hair that could only belong to one of his own. Kakarot was bent over in the dirt, digging frantically with his hands with that single-minded focus that he often had when given a task, Krillin at his side.

Bardock lowered himself behind the two boys. "Don't they have tools for this sort of thing?"

Krillin jumped nearly three feet in the air at the unexpected voice, cowering under the gaze of the man who had practically bitten his head off just a few hours earlier.

Kakarot meanwhile was unfazed. "Oh, it's you!" He smiled up at his father, then turned to inspect his handiwork. "We could use tools, but Master Roshi says using our bare hands will train our fingers and make our hands stronger."

Bardock shrugged. He'd never worked on a farm before, so he wouldn't know.

"Is it time to train now?" Kakarot asked hopefully.

"Are you done?"

"Yes, I'll just go tell Miss Darcie!" Kakarot grabbed Krillin's hand and ran off towards where another elderly human woman was watching the work with a trained eye.

Bardock followed at a distance as the two scampered off to wash their hands in the furrow where water was being directed from the river to irrigate the land. Despite standing several feet from the boys, his Saiyan ears could still hear their conversation clearly.

"I'm gonna miss having you as my training partner while my father is here," Kakarot was saying. "Maybe I can ask him to train you too!"

Bardock groaned internally.

"I don't think that's such a good idea Goku," Krillin responded, frowning slightly. "Your father doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Huh?" Kakarot stared at him in confusion. "Why'd ya think that Krillin?"

"Well, every time he sees me he yells at me," Krillin pouted.

"Aw, that's okay," Kakarot grinned. "He yells at me all the time too. Actually he yells at everybody. It's just 'cause he's grumpy."

Bardock made a face. Where the kid got the impression he was grumpy all the time was beyond him.

"Ya think so?"

"Yeah, of course!" Kakarot smiled reassuringly. "There's no reason why he wouldn't like you."

"I guess." Krillin didn't sound very convinced.

Kakarot dried his hands on his pants. "I have to go now. I'll see you later, okay Krillin?"

"Yeah okay. Bye Goku!" Krillin waved as Kakarot ran off to join his dad, now standing with his arms crossed and looking very grumpy indeed.

"Bye Krillin!" Kakarot yelled back. "Say hi to Launch and Master Roshi for me!"

Bardock glared down at his son. "Ready now?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Kakarot's grin threatened to split his sweet little face. "I can't wait to start training!"


	5. Turtle Wave

Bardock and Kakarot made their way to an open field several miles away from Arkisbe's farms. The terrain was pockmarked with evidence of the many training sessions the area had hosted for the town's Saiyans.

"Here's what we're going to do," Bardock said as Kakarot began stretching. "I want you to attack me as hard as you can. Let's see if that old man managed to teach you anything useful," he smirked.

"Okay," Kakarot said, falling into an offensive stance. "I promise I won't hurt you too bad."

Bardock laughed. A little trash talk was always good, and he didn't think the boy had it in him.

Brows furrowing in sudden, intense concentration, Kakarot faced down his father, who stood across from, arms crossed and grinning.

In a swift movement, Kakarot launched himself at Bardock foot-first, aiming a kick for his chest. The older man deflected him all too easily, knocking him out of the air with barely a flick of the wrist. Kakarot was sent flying, but he regained control quickly and used the momentum to push himself forward again, this time going for his father's head with his fists. Bardock blocked him again, this time grabbing the small fist in his larger hand and flinging his son away from him. Kakarot landed face first in the dry yellow grass but quickly picked himself up again. He turned to face his father as he wiped dirt off his frowning face. "You're tough," he said, rather obviously.

"You're weak," Bardock spat back. "You've been wasting your time with that old man, thinking he has something to offer you when he doesn't."

Kakarot's frown deepened. "That's not true!" he yelled. "I'll show you what Master Roshi taught me!" The boy took on his fighting stance again, putting his palms together and dragging them towards his back knee. "Kame-,"

Bardock grinned nonchalantly. It was, of course, a shame that his son was in such bad shape, but he also couldn't help the feeling of self-righteous smugness at the boy's lack of progression in the eight months since he'd last trained him.

"-hame-,"

 _Maybe now he'll finally see sense, and we can be rid of that meddling old fool and his crazy niece and his ridiculous nephew,_ he thought.

Meanwhile, a small blue ball of _ki_ was forming in his son's palms. Ironically, had Master Roshi's ridiculous nephew been present, he could have warned Bardock about the intensity of the blast he was about to experience.

"HA!"

The small blue ball exploded in a burst of energy and light. Bardock's eyes widened in shock at the size of it – he had no idea his son could pull of a _ki_ attack so powerful. The ball shot at him at lightning speed, and he had barely enough time to raise his arms in defense.

The ball collided into him, bubbling and bursting against his bare arms as he fought against the worst of the blast, widening his stance in an attempt to push against it. Finally the light and smoke cleared, and Bardock carefully lowered his arms to see his son grinning gleefully.

"Ha hah!" Kakarot cheered triumphantly. "Told ya!"

Bardock stared at his son, then at his charred and torn tunic and burnt arms, in disbelief. " _Master Roshi_ taught you _that?"_

"Yep. It's called the Kamehameha wave. He invented it," Kakarot said proudly. "He taught Krillin too, but mine is a little stronger than his."

Bardock blinked at his son blankly, unsure of what to make of this entirely unexpected development. On the one hand, he could hardly believe his youngest son could manage such a blast, let alone that a human had taught it to him. On the other hand…

On the other hand, there was a lot of potential there, potential Bardock could mold, and he was not so stubborn as to refuse to recognize what was right in front of him. It was a good attack, but had Bardock been less cocky, he could have deflected it fairly easily.

That would have to change it.

The Saiyan walked over to his still grinning son, removing the tunic that was now in bad need of darning. Dropping it to the ground carelessly, he leaned forward into his son's face and said, "We'll have to do something about that, then."

Father and son trained relentlessly until the sun began to set. Bardock demonstrated a few of his trademark techniques to his son, which Kakarot practiced, and then the two sparred again. And again. And again. The results were mostly the same – Kakarot was utterly outmatched against his father's skill and experience, and the older fighter was able to block or deflect almost every punch and kick. The few that did land seemed to have no impact on him, much to Kakarot's frustration, since his father didn't spare him when he chose to go on the attack.

By the time Bardock called an end to their training, Kakarot was bruised and bloodied, but still in good spirits.

"Come here," Bardock said as sat in the grass, pulling over the bag he had brought with him from the marketplace.

Kakarot lowered himself carefully next to his father, peeling off his shirt so he could use it wipe the blood and dirt from his face and torso.

"Here," Bardock said gruffly, dropping one apple into his lap and quickly taking a large bite out of the second one. This was not normally something he would do after a sparring session with his son – either one – but he was trying to do things Gine's way, at least with Kakarot.

"Oh wow!" Kakarot's whole face lit up as he grasped the fruit in both hands, holding it up like it was some kind of idol before taking a bite that rivaled his father's in size. "Mmm, so yummy." Mouth half full, his voice was muffled as he grinned happily. "Fank you Fader!"

Bardock nodded silently in acknowledgement. The two sat, munching quietly, sweaty bodies glistening in the sun's parting rays.

"I have a question," Kakarot said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, apple gone. Bardock grunted, indicating that he could continue. "Are you sad your father is dead?"

Bardock's mouth fell open. This, of all things, he had not expected. Kakarot had never shown any interest in Bardock's dead father – why would he, when the man had died years before Bardock had even met the boy's mother. And now he not only wanted to talk about the man, but about Bardock's _feelings_ for him?

Had this been anyone else, even Raditz, _especially_ Raditz, Bardock would have hit them upside the head and told them to stop asking stupid questions about useless things. But Gine had told him not do that with this child. He was supposed to _engage_ him, and Bardock had a sinking feeling that answering these kinds of questions was exactly what his wife had meant by that.

"Why," he said slowly, "are you asking?"

"Well, sometimes Krillin seems kinda sad, and I asked Master Roshi about it and he said that Krillin gets sad because his parents are dead. And Mother gets sad sometimes too, about her parents being dead. And then I remembered that your father is dead. So are you sad too?"

Bardock puffed through his nose, trying not to look as exasperated as he felt. "I was sad when he died. But that was a long, long time ago."

"So you're not sad anymore?" Kakarot asked, eyes wide with concern.

Bardock shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think about it."

"That's good," Kakarot reached over and patted his father congenially, almost paternally, on his shoulder. "I don't want you to be sad." He paused for a moment, then added, "But then how come Krillin's still sad about his parents being dead? And Mother too? Their parents died a long time ago."

"I don't know!" Bardock's voice was rising now. "Why are you so _concerned_ over Krillin and whether he's sad or happy or angry or whatever? Why are you so obsessed with this boy?!"

Kakarot shrugged. "Krillin's my friend," he said simply.

" _Why?!_ Out of all the children in town you could be friends with, you chose not only a human, but the strangest human you could find. Why?"

"'Cause I like him. He's nice to me, and he's a good training partner, and he's real smart, and he helps me whenever I ask, and he doesn't call me names like weirdo or stupid or retard…"

Bardock sighed heavily. "Are the other children still calling you that?"

"Not as much as they used to," Kakarot said casually. "It's mostly just the older kids. I don't think they even really mean it anymore. They just say it to be mean."

Bardock groaned, falling back into the grass and rubbing his face with his hands. He believed firmly that when it came to bullying you should give as good as you got, but Kakarot never seemed to be interested in retaliating against the kids who insulted him. He wouldn't even fight them unless they came at him first. Even now, he spoke about it as though he were discussing what nice weather they were having – not a hint of anger or resentment in his voice.

"That's why I like Krillin. He's never mean, he's always nice to everybody. And he always defends me, even if the other kids hit him after." Kakarot paused, then added, "You should be nicer to him, Father. He thinks you don't like him."

Bardock groaned again, then sat up again to meet his son's earnest gaze. "I do like him," he said, trying to pick his words carefully, "but he is not a good friend for you."

Kakarot's bottom lip pouted. "Why not?"

"Because he is human. Now you are children, and you can work and play and train together here, but you won't be children forever. Soon you'll be men. Then you'll join Frieza's army or the king's guards, and Krillin will…," Bardock paused, trying and failing to come up with a plausible career path for the human boy, "...do whatever it is humans do.

"We can still be friends though," Kakarot said.

Bardock shook his head. "You won't."

Kakarot shrugged. "I think we will."

"Fine," Bardock snapped, standing up abruptly. He was done with this conversation. "Get up, we're going home."

* * *

Gine had already returned from the butchery and was preparing dinner for her family when the two Saiyans stumbled into the house, dirty, tired, and bruised.

"You've had a productive day," she smiled.

"Go wash your hands boy," Bardock ordered. As Kakarot scampered off to the bathroom he came up to his wife, taking a large spoon and helping her ladle the food into the large round plates they would share from. "Have you seen this" – _damn, what did he call it again? – "_ turtle wave thing that he can do?" Bardock asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"Oh yes!" Gine grinned. "I've seen it plenty of times, from him and from Krillin. He's very proud of it."

"Damn you, woman!" Bardock slammed a fist into the counter. He was angry, but he couldn't fight the smile spreading across his face. "You knew he would use it on me! You could have warned me about it!"

"Bardock!" Gine widened her eyes in fake surprise. "You're not saying your 11-year-old son gave you a hard time today, are you?"

"No! That boy needs a lifetime of training before he'll ever match up to me," he said arrogantly. But the smile wouldn't leave his face.

"You're proud of him," Gine said softly.

Bardock shrugged. "I'm just happy he hasn't been wasting his time."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed your time with him," Gine said, carrying a platter out to the living room table, "because you'll be spending some more time with him in the bath tonight."

"We still have to share baths?" Bardock frowned slightly. Shared baths were a common feature of life in Vegeta's villages when water was scarce. Droughts weren't uncommon, but they'd been sharing baths the last time Bardock was home. That they were still rationing water was a bad sign.

Gine sighed heavily. "Yes. We're having to be more careful now actually. Normally I wouldn't let Kakarot bathe more than once a week, but he's such a mess from training with you that he needs it."

"Well then," Bardock grinned, putting his arms around his wife and pulling her into him. She was much smaller than him, her head fitting neatly underneath his chin. "Why don't you and I take a bath together, and Kakarot can take one by himself?"

"That would be nice," Gine said as her husband leaned down to kiss her neck and shoulder. "But Kakarot won't get clean if he's by himself. He'll just splash around in the water and pretend he's a fish."

Bardock groaned for what seemed to him like 15th time that day, the sound now muffled against his wife's skin. "I told you we shouldn't have had more kids after Raditz," he mumbled, half hoping she wouldn't hear him.

"Yes, I remember. I wanted to have a girl," Gine smiled up at Bardock. "I'm glad we have Kakarot though. He's such a happy child."

"You say that like it's an accomplishment."

"It is." The smile fell off her face and her eyes became distant. "Sometimes, it is."

 **A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading for the follows, favs, and reviews! I'm so happy that you guys are interested in this premise and in this story. These first few chapters have been focused on world-building, but I'm hoping to introduce more action in the coming chapters, so stay tuned! And please continue to review!**


	6. Family Visits

_Master Gohan had long ago given up on the world, isolating himself in a small one-room cabin high up in the mountains. He had had a good life, had traveled all over Vegeta, met many people, good and bad, and done many great deeds. Now all he wanted from life was to be left to spend his last years in peace._

 _He still exercised daily, of course. Old habits die hard, and physical health was of supreme importance of one wanted to live so completely alone as Gohan did. Climbing was a good form of exercise and his favorite form, one that the mountains made all to affordable for him. And so every day he climbed up from his mountain home, looked down on the world and its goings-on from the highest point he could reach, reflected on how fortunate he was to done with it all, and climbed back down again._

 _It was on one of these climbs that something moved him to look down into a ravine he often walked past. Not just glance, but really look. And something moved him to not simply dismiss that tuft of what would turn out to be black hair peeking through the rocks as not simply some vegetative growth, but as something more, something that was, perhaps, important._

 _That was how he found the boy._

 _At first he thought he was dead. He certainly_ looked _dead – there was blood everywhere, and Gohan was sure he could see bone through the gaping wound in the boy's head. But he wasn't dead. Somehow, he had been saved._

 _As soon as he realized the boy was still alive, still breathing, Gohan acted quickly. He tore off a piece of his tunic and wrapped the boy's head up as tightly as possible, then lifted him up and flew him down to his small cabin, resting him gently on his bed. Then he did something he had not done in a long, long time. He went down to the village._

 _His memories, now, of that day are blurry. He knows that he rushed down, flying as fast as he could and grabbing the first person he saw, demanding to be shown the doctor's house. He'd grabbed the confused man, who'd been in the middle of a meal, and taken him to back up the mountain to examine the injured child._

 _It was then, and only then, as the doctor peeled back the makeshift bandages and began cleaning and sterilizing the wound, that Gohan realized that boy he'd found was a Saiyan._

* * *

A few days after Bardock arrived, the family went to his hometown, Ter-Kader, to visit his mother.

Ter-Kader was a small village nestled against the mountains. Most of its full-time residents were employed in either mining or textile manufacturing. Higher up in the mountains there was a small human settlement surrounding Fire Mountain where people raised goats and other animals. Unlike in Arkisbe, the Saiyan and human populations in Ter-Kader were very much separate, although the two did maintain some level of cooperation.

It was here where an unconscious, bleeding Kakarot had been found nine years ago at the bottom of a deep ravine by an elderly human man named Gohan.

Bardock was not particularly fond of the old man. He was, like Master Roshi, a hermit, living much higher up in the mountains than the other humans, almost completely isolated from everyone and everything. He was an old man when Bardock was still a boy, and there'd been rumors back then that he had special powers and practiced magic.

Unlike with Master Roshi, however, Bardock kept his dislike for Master Gohan to himself, largely because it seemed so unreasonable in the face of the old man's kindly smile and twinkling eyes. There was no doubt that he'd saved his son's life when he found him lying in the dirt, barely breathing. That one incident had created a bond between Gohan and Bardock's family, a bond that changed the people on both ends.

Kakarot formed a deep attachment to the old man, and that attachment brought the human down from his small home in the mountains to see the little boy. Over time, his visits had expanded to the human village around Fire Mountain and the Saiyans in Ter-Kader. So when Bardock arrived at his mother's house, he fully expected to see Master Gohan somewhere in the village. What he _didn't_ expect was to find him having tea in the living room with his mother.

"Master Gohan!" Kakarot cheered, running to the human with his arms opened wide as the man got up to his feet.

"Whoa now!" Gohan chuckled as he gathered the boy into his arms. "Careful, I'm old enough to be your grandpa!"

Bardock snorted. The man was probably old enough to be _his_ grandpa.

Master Gohan looked up at Gine and Bardock, who were still standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Master Bardock, Miss Gine! It's so nice to see you!"

The two Saiyans bowed to the older man. Bardock was not particularly happy to see him, but he was raised better than to disrespect an elder and a guest in his own house. Especially not in front of his mother's already unhappy gaze.

"Yes, it seems he finally remembered he has a mother!" Carma was not elderly by Saiyan standards, but she acted as though she were on death's door.

"I've only been here a few days Mother!" Bardock said, exasperated already. "You're the first person I've visited."

"Hmph! Toma came to see _his_ mother the very day he arrived," the short woman retorted. "I have to hear from the neighbors my son's news."

Bardock sighed to himself and mumbled an apology. Why couldn't they ever have a nice, quiet visit?

"Master Gohan, let's go outside!" Kakarot said excitedly. "I wanna show you something really neat!"

Master Gohan chuckled. "Alright, alright."

"NO!" a tiny voice cried out insistently, and Master Gohan turned to reveal a small Saiyan girl hiding behind his wide trousers, her face scrunched up in an intense glare, her tiny fists holding on tightly to the old man's tunic.

"No!" she repeated. "Finish your story first!"

"Kaela!" Carma yelled sharply. "Shame on you! Come say a proper hello to your uncle and his wife!"

Very reluctantly, the little girl loosened her grip on Gohan's shirt and stood up, making her way over to where Bardock and Gine were still standing and bowing to both of them.

Gine returned the bow with a smile, and Bardock got down on his knees to greet his eight-year-old niece. "Are you having fun at your grandmother's house?" he asked, and the two exchanged knowing grins, grins that had lived in this house and knew just how unlikely fun was here.

Kaela was Turles' only child. When his wife died two years ago, the girl had been entrusted to the care of her mother's mother, who lived in a nearby village. Lately, however, it seemed she was spending more and more time at her father's family home.

"Can you believe the gall of that woman?" Everyone was now seated once again, Bardock and Gine around one side of the table and Kakarot, Master Gohan, and Kaela around the other, as Carma busied herself preparing lunch and swatting away her daughter-in-law's offers of help. "She says she can't _afford_ to take care of her own grandchild, after all the money your poor brother sends her. She said I wouldn't understand, since I have two _living_ children to take care of me! Can you believe that! As though she would like for you to die so that we'd be even. How dare she?! The nerve of her!"

"I'm sure she didn't mean it like that," Master Gohan said.

"And then she said she was getting too old to take care of such a little child!" Carma continued, as though Gohan had not said anything. "As if the whole world doesn't know that she's 10 years younger than me! At least! And I'm feeling very ill lately."

"Have you seen a doctor?" Bardock asked.

"Hmph! Certainly not. Not a man among them knows what he's saying."

"Well," Gine said, turning to Bardock, "perhaps we could take Kaela for a few days? To give you a break?"

Bardock nodded. Truthfully, the idea of another child in his house made him want to cut his vacation short and go back to Frieza's army, but he couldn't help but feel bad for his niece, who clearly wasn't wanted in this house.

The girl, however, was still frowning. "You have to finish your story," she said to Master Gohan.

"What story?" Kakarot asked.

"It's about the legend of the dragon balls," Gohan said.

Kakarot's eyes widened in horror. "You mean some poor dragon…"

"NO!" Kaela yelled, leaning across Gohan to smack at her cousin's knee. Unfortunately her arms were too short, so she mostly just waved her hand around ineffectually. "It's about magic stones that make a big dragon and give you wishes!"

This caught everyone's attention. Even Bardock and Gine were listening now.

"Legend has it that on a distant planet far, far away," Gohan began, lowering his voice a little to lend his tale an air of mystery, "there lives a mysterious people with strange powers. The greatest leaders are called the Dragon Tribe, and they possess the power to create a huge magical dragon."

"Magic is evil. Dangerous," Bardock interjected.

"Yes, of course. But this is special magic that is only given to the wisest and most virtuous of their kind. The great Dragon Elder creates the dragon within seven magical stones called dragon balls," Gohan continued, "and disperses them throughout the known universe. If you gather all seven, you can call up the dragon and he will grant you one wish."

"Throughout the whole universe!" Kaela said.

Master Gohan nodded. "Many great warriors and adventurers have sought the dragon balls, but all have failed in their quest."

"What would you wish for," Gine asked the table at large, "if you ever found them?"

"Better sons," Carma said immediately, giving Bardock a pointed look. He lowered his gaze and tried to look as penitent as possible.

"I would wish for enough money so you and Raditz wouldn't have to work so far away," Gine said, putting her arm around her husband.

"I suppose I'd like to be young again," Gohan laughed. "What about you Kaela?"

Kaela was quiet for a moment, then said, "Can you wish someone back to life?"

Master Gohan reached over to hug her. Gine looked like she was about to cry, so Bardock spoke up quickly. "I'd wish to be able to see the future."

Gine raised an eyebrow at her husband. "Really? Why?"

He shrugged. "It would be useful." He turned to his son. "What about you Kakarot?"

Kakarot scratched his head as he considered the question. "I don't know," he finally said. "I don't really want anything. Kaela can have my wish," he smiled at his cousin.

"Well, that's very generous of you," Gohan patted him on the head.

* * *

 _The change was sudden. One day he was isolated from the world. The next day, the world was at his doorstep and in his house._

 _The boy's mother was staying with him now. There was nothing for it, since the doctor had advised them not to try to move him, and the woman was desperate to be with her son. Gohan felt sorry for her. It was a terrible thing to have to go through, not knowing from one hour to the next if your son would live, if he would ever wake up from the endless slumber he was in._

 _So he told her to stay. He even offered to sleep outside, if that would make her more comfortable in his tiny home, but she'd refused. They slept on the floor, each lying on a blanket at opposite ends of the room. Her husband came to see her, to see his son, about a month later. He stayed for two weeks, then left._

 _With time Gohan became used to her presence. Her name was Gine, and the boy was Kakarot, a rather old-fashioned Saiyan name. He was a little uncomfortable, truth be told, at the unexpected intrusion, and would have vastly preferred it if they were human instead of Saiyan. He did not have good memories of Saiyans. Gine, however, was mild enough, grief-stricken as she was. And Kakarot, of course was silent._

 _Sometimes, late at night, Gohan would sit next to the boy and watch his face. He looked so sweet, so innocent and peaceful, it was hard to believe that his destiny was to become a killing machine._

 _It was during one of those moments, four months after Gohan had found him, that Kakarot finally woke up._

 _Their eyes locked, and the boy blinked up at him, looking confused and tired, his mouth opening as if trying to say something._

 _Gohan got him a glass of water, lifting his head carefully to help him drink. The boy took a few sips then pushed the glass away, his eyes never leaving Gohan's face. Then he smiled at him. A wide, happy, genuine smile that Gohan couldn't help but return._

 _Things quickly went downhill from there. As soon as Gohan woke Gine up to tell her the good news, it became clear that the boy had no memory of the woman in front of him. He smiled at her, sweet as can be, but he had no idea who she was to him. It was too much for her. She broke down weeping in the darkness, her son staring at her confused and scared, clinging to Gohan for comfort._

 _The next day Gohan went down for the doctor, who performed several tests on the young boy. There was good news, he told them, and there was bad news. The bad news was that he had suffered complete memory loss. The good news was that the damage wouldn't affect his learning or his memory acquisition from this point forward – essentially, he was a clean slate._

 _Gohan had to admit, he seemed healthy enough. He was certainly more cheerful than any Saiyan he'd ever met, even in the face of his mother's continuing grief. And it continued, because the boy wanted to stay. He was like a baby duck with its mother, having latched on to Gohan from the moment he opened his eyes to a world made new again. Gine had neither the will nor the ability to force him to return to her hometown, and so the two stayed._

 _For four more weeks, little Kakarot followed Gohan wherever he went. And Gohan found that his heart opened up to him, like a flower after rain, that the boy's presence quickly became not just pleasant to him, but needed and desired._

 _It was as Gohan was making peace with these new feelings that the boy's father finally arrived, marching into Gohan's home to take his family away._

 _"Kakarot," Gine had said, bending down to her son and gesturing towards her husband, "this is your father."_

 _"Fa-der," Kakarot repeated, grinning. "Hello fader!"_

 _"You live with your father and me," Gine explained. "You have to come home with us now."_

 _Kakarot shook his head. "No thank you."_

 _"No thank you?!" Bardock repeated. Gohan couldn't help but feel something akin to pity for the man. This was clearly so beyond his realm of experience, and he just didn't have the emotional tools to handle it. "Listen boy," Bardock said, "your mother may have been willing to put up with this attitude, but you will damn well do what I tell you to!"_

 _Kakarot frowned. "No yelling."_

 _Bardock looked utterly bewildered now. His sons had never dared to talk back to him. It was unthinkable, in Vegetan culture, to so openly disrespect your elders and those in authority. He took a deep breath, then stepped forward towards his son, "You're coming with us."_

 _"No!" Kakarot darted behind Gohan's legs, smushing his face between them to look up at this strange, tall, angry-looking man. "Here is nice! I wanna stay!"_

 _Bardock looked at Gohan, his eyes burning with hate and anger and genuine fear. "What did you do to him?"_

 _Gohan knew the rumors that abounded in the nearby villages. He knew many believed him to be some kind of magician. It had never bothered him, but now, somehow, this accusation stabbed at him. He had never once hurt a living soul, except in defense of himself and other innocents. And now this man, who could probably kill him now without breaking a sweat, was looking at him with unmistakable fear, accusing him of harming an as-yet innocent little boy._

 _So Gohan bent down and loosened the boy's grip on his pants, and told him, quietly and gently, that he must leave with his mother and father, and promised him that he would visit._

 _They left. Not quietly, of course – Bardock had carried a crying boy out the door, but nevertheless they were gone. And Gohan was alone in his home once again._

 _Two days later, Gohan made his way to Arkisbe and asked where he could find the home of Gine. He had to go. He had promised the boy that he would visit, and the poor child was probably still struggling to adjust to his new circumstances._

 _Gohan kept his promise that day, and he kept it for many months after that despite Bardock's suspicious looks. And somehow, through that promise, he became a part of the world again._


	7. A Princess' Powers

Prince Vegeta strode down the steel halls of Frieza's ship, Nappa at his heels, his brilliant red cap flowing majestically behind him. Despite what Zarbon said about his "refinement," no one could argue that the Saiyan royal exuded an air of power and control, even at his young age.

The prince turned into another hall purposefully, his cape twisting with him…

"Ouch! Hey!"

Vegeta turned on the small girl who was protesting behind him. The tail end of his cape had caught her in the face, and the Princess Amara was now slapping the offending fabric away.

"What is the problem now?!" Vegeta's voice was approaching a dangerous octave.

"Your cape is too long," Amara said, folding her arms imperiously.

Vegeta gritted his teeth. He'd only been in charge of the little princess for two days, and already he'd had enough of her.

The day after he had first met Amara and her guardian – now glowering at him from behind the child's shoulder – at Frieza's dinner party, the galactic overlord had called him in for a private session. Vegeta had complied, but only because Frieza's invitations were thinly veiled orders. Private meetings with the Arcosian were always bad news.

"Now Vegeta, you of course remember that when you first arrived on my ship, I was gracious enough to take a personal interest in your education, yes?" Frieza had said as he sat cross-legged in his floating throne, a glass of wine in one hand.

Vegeta grunted noncommittally. By personal interest Frieza meant that he'd picked out a mentor for the young prince. And now, apparently, he was expected to return the favor by becoming a mentor to Frieza's latest acquisition.

As far as Vegeta was concerned, this was just another way for the Arcosian to humiliate him, to remind him just who was boss around here. He may be forced to train the Hotsu princess, but Vegeta would be damned if he was about to take any lip from her.

The two royals stared each other down – Vegeta actually had to look down, since Amara only came up to his waist – under the disapproving gaze of Tonsa and the very tired gaze of Nappa. Amara and Tonsa were no longer in the bejeweled robes they had been wearing when he'd first met them. Both were now in the standard armor issued by the Galactic Frieza Army, with Tonsa wearing a dark blue battle suit underneath. The suit covered her arms but left her long, toned legs bare, and she wore knee-length black boots to match her armor. Amara was wearing a similar outfit, but her boots came just to her ankles, and her armor came with a light blue cape and a pair of black gloves to cover her small and no doubt delicate hands.

Finally, Vegeta gave up on their staring contest, whipping round to continue down the hall to the training center. Behind him, Amara followed with a triumphant smirk on her face.

It wasn't long before Vegeta had wiped it completely off her face.

The prince instructed Nappa to loose one, then two and three, Saibamen on his little student. Amara was able to fight off two at once, relying solely on martial arts techniques. Vegeta, Nappa, and Tonsa watched her from the observation room. She was quick and intuitive, her movements easy and graceful as she anticipated and blocked the Saibamen's attacks. But it wasn't good enough.

"Why isn't she attacking them?" Vegeta snapped at Tonsa, who was standing, arms crossed, a little ways behind him.

"She's not used to attacking. She's a princess. If this were a normal situation I would have killed them off by now."

"This is the new normal," Vegeta turned to the guardian. "You will not always be around to do the dirty work for her."

Leaning forward, Vegeta pressed a button on the training room's control panel, releasing the third Saibaman into the room.

By this point, Amara was tired. She was doubled over in a corner, having knocked out, temporarily, her two attackers, and was attempting to catch her breath. The third creature attacked viciously, barely giving the girl enough time to raise her arms in defense.

The Saibaman was programmed not to kill its opponent, but it was still relentless, scratching and biting with abandon. Amara lashed out at it, trying to push it away from her without success.

"Call it off," Tonsa had taken a step forward, her whole body tensing with the urgent need to protect her charge.

Vegeta said nothing.

"Prince! Call it off!"

Vegeta smirked, but that was the only acknowledgement he gave to the Hotsu woman's demand.

Tonsa strode directly up to the Saiyan prince, her face contorted with the force of her frustration. "Call them off now, or I will."

Vegeta looked into the eyes of the taller woman, the green irises darkened with anger and hate. Sighing heavily, the prince turned on the microphone and commanded the Saibamen to stand down. The prince and the two guardians made their way into the enclosed training space.

Tonsa rushed past them to her princess, bodily picking up the panting, crying girl and attempting to comfort her.

"Pathetic," Vegeta spat. "Do you not even know how to use your _ki?"_

Tonsa turned on the prince, but before she could say anything Amara spoke for herself. "I only use power attacks in emergencies."

"Emergencies? Well, child," he bent a little closer to her face, "from now on, consider your existence an emergency." Then he turned to Tonsa. "Put her down. She's not an infant."

"She needs to go to the infirmary," Tonsa replied.

"She needs no such thing. We've only just started training."

"You want to do _more_ training! After that!" Tonsa cried in disbelief.

"Put her down," Vegeta repeated, closing the gap between him and the guardian. "That's an order."

"I don't take orders from you," Tonsa said, her voice quiet yet menacing.

Vegeta raised a hand as though to strike her, but Amara quickly slid out of her guardian's embrace. "I'm ready," she said, steeling herself for what else Vegeta had in store for her.

With purposeful strides, Vegeta grabbed the nearest Saibaman and dropped it in front of her. "Kill it. With your _ki._ I want to see what you can do."

Amara swallowed. "I-I've never killed anyone before," she stammered.

"It's not a person," Nappa assured her. "It's a thing; we make 'em in the labs."

Amara looked at the Saibaman. It was just sitting there, expressionless and motionless, waiting for its next command.

Maybe it wasn't a person the way she and Tonsa were. But it was still alive! Right?

She looked to Tonsa, who gave her a curt nod.

Well, if Tonsa said it was okay…

Amara took a deep breath and shut her eyes, centering her energy. She felt it rise up through her core, whipping around her body, breezing through the curls cupping her face. Now. She was ready.

Amara cupped a hand over her chest. A ball of light and power began to form – but not at her fingers. Instead, it was coming from her chest, from inside her, and finally the ball was released in her hand. She took the energy and held it aloft, willing it to take shape. Specifically, the shape of a sword.

Yielding the transient weapon expertly in her young hands, the princess swung it over her head and sliced off the Saibaman's head.

There was a moment of silence. Then...

"What in the fuck was that?!"

"Vegeta, language," Nappa whispered to his charge. "She's still a kid."

"Did you see that?!" Vegeta hadn't even registered the older man's comment. "I don't know what you think you're doing," he had turned back to Amara now, "but this is an army. We are warriors. We do not have time for these," – he gestured broadly with his hands – "theatrics. You could have just blasted the damn thing!"

"These are not theatrics!" Tonsa snapped. "Our people have elevated _ki_ techniques to an art form, and we will not be reduced to throwing around balls of energy like _you people,"_ she practically spat.

"You people?!" Vegeta repeated, his face turning red with rage and his fists clenching at his sides. Nappa stepped forward, preparing himself to step in to defuse the situation.

Tonsa held her ground. "My Lady is heir to a long tradition of skill and artistry. She will not be reduced to the blunt methods of your kind."

A ball of _ki_ began to form in Vegeta's palm. "You have no idea," he hissed, "what methods _my kind_ are capable of."

In one swift movement, Tonsa raised her hand to her chest, producing a ball of _ki_ and forming it into a sword, much like Amara had done but significantly faster – the sword seemed to materialize into her hand. "Show me," she taunted.

"Alright, that's enough," Nappa said, positioning himself between the two and, very deliberately, in front of Amara, who was looking on with something approaching horror in her eyes. "This isn't solving anything. Clearly," he turned to Tonsa, "you've got a better handle on this…technique than the little princess. If she's going to be a warrior, she's going to have to be a lot faster than she is now. Can you teach her that?"

Tonsa took a deep, measured breath, allowing her sword to dissipate and nodding curtly at Nappa.

Nappa turned to the still fuming Vegeta. "Prince?"

Vegeta gave Tonsa a withering look before turning to address Princess Amara. "I'll give you one week to master this technique. If you fail, we will do things my way. Understood?"

Amara nodded. Without acknowledging Tonsa again, Vegeta turned on his heel and walked out of the training room.

"It would be in your best interest not to antagonize Prince Vegeta," Nappa said to Tonsa before turning to follow the prince.

* * *

Vegeta and Nappa were not the only ones becoming familiar with the latest additions to Frieza's army, largely because Tonsa and Amara where not the only Hotsus on the ship. A small contingent of about 10 Hotsu soldiers had joined, and they were attracting a lot of attention.

Raditz was joining his crew in the mess hall for a quick meal when he first saw them, sitting all together at a table in a corner. You could always tell new recruits by how shiny their armor was and how clean their white boots looked. That was hardly the only unique thing about the Hotsus, though. There were only two men in the group, a rare situation in the army. The vast majority of fighters were male – even the Saiyans, who didn't differentiate between male and female when it came to strength, had significantly more men than women serving.

They were also, Raditz couldn't help noticing, rather attractive. When you worked in an intergalactic enterprise, you came across all sorts, and there were certain people that Raditz personally felt looked like they had crawled out of a child's fevered nightmare. But the Hotsus could easily pass for humans. There was one in particular he couldn't help but stare at. She was sitting toward the end of the table, focused on her meal, her eyes glancing up every now and then to nod or comment on something someone had said. Her skin was dark, and reminded Raditz of fireplaces on cold winter nights. She had short, dark blue curls, the ends cupping her cheeks and chin delicately, and lips the color of overripe berries.

For the briefest of moments she inclined her head in his direction, and in that moment Raditz felt his heart stop.

"Raditz, I think you're drooling."

Raditz turned to the young woman who'd burst his little bubble, his face flushed with embarrassment. Calie was his father's best friend's only child, and Toma had requested that she be placed in Raditz's crew so that the older Saiyan could keep an eye on her. She was 17 now, and over the last year she had become something of a sister to him in what could sometimes be a lonely place. "I'm not drooling," he scowled at her.

Calie giggled. "Whatever you say, Radz. What did General Nappa want with you anyway?"

"Nothing," Raditz tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. "He, uh, wanted me to give a message to my father for him."

"Oh really?" Calie raised an incredulous eyebrow. "What message?"

"I can't say, it's private."

"Private. _Right."_

Raditz flicked a piece of rice at her. "Eat your food, brat."

For the rest of the day, he would wonder whether the girl had seen or noticed him at all.

 **A/N: The Hotsus are heavily Sailor Moon and Steven Universe Gems-inspired, so make of that what you will. Things are heating up here! The next chapter will refocus on Goku and his family. Thanks again for all the amazing reviews and for taking the time to read this!**


	8. Brothers and Rivals

"Guess what day it is today!"

Kakarot was jumping excitedly around the table, his makeshift calendar in his hands as Bardock attempted to have breakfast. "It's the 20th," he said, mouth full of bread. "Sit down!"

"Raditz is coming home today!" he cheered, waving the calendar around.

Bardock turned to glare at his wife, who was eating quietly next to him. "Is that why you have the day off?"

Gine batted her eyelashes at him in an attempt at innocence. "I'd completely forgotten about that."

Bardock rolled his eyes, then reached out with one hand and grabbed his son by the scruff of his neck, forcing him to the floor and dragging him into his lap. The rough treatment didn't dampen Kakarot's spirits however, and he continued to chatter excitedly about his brother's impending arrival.

"Is he always this excited when Raditz comes home?" Bardock asked his wife, one eyebrow raised curiously.

Gine shrugged. "Some people actually like their siblings."

"I like it when Raditz is here," Kakarot said. "He buys me sweets, and he helps me with my homework, and I like sleeping with him. His hair is like a fuzzy blanket."

At that, a small snort came from the other end of the table. Kaela had been staying with her uncle's family for the last three weeks, and her prolonged visit didn't seem anywhere near ending. She was currently sleeping in Raditz's bed and preventing, very strictly, her cousin from sharing it with her.

Kaela liked staying with her uncle. Her grandmothers were always making demands of her to help out around the house or earn her stay, but here she was a guest, free to simply tag along with Kakarot wherever he went. Her aunt and uncle were much nicer to her, too – Aunt Gine let her pick what they had for dinner, and Uncle Bardock was letting her train with his son.

"Kakarot, why don't you take Kaela with you to play after work today? You can go to Master Roshi's if you like," Gine suggested.

"What?! What about training?" Bardock protested.

"You," Gine reached over to put an arm around her husband, "are going to stay home with me and help prepare for Raditz's arrival."

Bardock leaned against his wife and groaned.

"Go on you two," Gine waved the two children off. "Have fun!"

No sooner had the door shut behind the two cousins than Gine was sitting in her husband's lap.

Bardock grinned. "Is this your idea of preparing for Raditz's arrival?"

"I thought we'd get it out of our system," Gine said.

Bardock lowered his head to rest it against Gine's breasts, letting her stroke his hair with one hand and rub his back with another. "What time is he coming home?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we have a few hours."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kakarot and Kaela had met up with Krillin and were making their way to the sea, where they would fly over to Master Roshi's island.

Kaela was getting used to being the sidekick on Krillin and Kakarot's two-man rescue squad, tagging along as they spent their afternoons rushing to the aid of bullied children and injured animals. It wasn't the kind of thing she normally spent her time doing back in her own hometown, but as long as she got to hit someone or something, she wasn't going to complain.

She was following a little behind the two as they talked together when suddenly a shout rang out.

Krillin and Kakarot stopped midstep, turning towards the source of the sound. It was faint, but someone was clearly yelling, "Oww! Stop! Leave me alone!" The two boys turned to each other and nodded in silent agreement before taking off for the source of the cry, Kaela in close pursuit.

A short sprint led them to where a little girl was being tag-teamed by two children jumping back and forth and pelting her with rocks.

"Ow! Stop it!" the girl yelled, covering her head with her hands and stepping backwards, only to bump into one of the two kids, who shoved her towards his partner-in-crime.

"Hey!" Kakarot yelled out, rushing forward to push the boy away and position himself between him and his victim. "What are you doing? Why are you picking on Arale?"

"Goku! Krillin!" Arale cheered her saviors. "See, I told you!" she bent down to stick her tongue out at the other boy from behind Kakarot's elbow. "Now they're going to beat you up, because you're mean!"

The boy smirked. "I'd like to see them try."

"You don't wanna mess with us," Krillin warned – he'd positioned himself between Arale and the other child, a girl. "I'll have you know Master Roshi's my great-uncle, and he's the best human fighter on the whole planet! He's training us!"

The boy snorted, crossing his arms and cocking a dark eyebrow. "Gee sis," he said, addressing the blonde girl with him, "I wonder who we should be afraid of more, these two morons or their hundred-year-old grandpa."

"Master Roshi's not _our_ grandpa!" Kaela spat from where she was standing near her cousin.

"Hey, you two are Saiyans!" the girl said suddenly, her pale blue eyes widening in surprise at this realization.

"Yeah, and so's Arale. So what?" Kakarot said.

"That one's not a Saiyan!" the boy exclaimed. "Look at her!"

Arale stuck her tongue out at him again. Her purple hair and blue eyes were not typical of the race, but sure enough there was a short brown tail wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Come on Lapis," the girl said, pushing past Krillin and grabbing her brother's arm. "Let's go. This is dumb."

But the boy held his ground, glaring daggers at both Kakarot and Kaela. "No way. I'm not scared of no Saiyans, and I'm definitely not scared of baldy over there."

"Come on!" she insisted, pulling on his sleeve. "This is boring anyway. We'll find something better to do. Let's leave."

Grumbling under his breath, the boy nodded silently. The two levitated into the air and flew off, leaving Kakarot and Krillin scratching their heads in confusion, and Arale sighing in relief.

"Thank you so much Goku!" Arale grabbed Kakarot's hands and squeezed in gratitude.

"Aw, it's okay Arale," he smiled.

"Who were those two anyway?" Krillin asked, scratching his head. "I've never seen them around before."

"You guys know Jasper right? The big man with the red hair who moved here a few months ago?" Arale said. "Those are his brother and sister."

Kakarot and Krillin exchanged a look – Jasper had made quite a buzz when he appeared suddenly in town, but he'd quickly built a reputation as an excellent farmhand and a strong worker.

"But Jasper's so nice!" Kakarot said. "How come his brother and sister are so mean?"

"Well, I don't care whose brother and sister they are," Kaela pouted. "We shoulda beat them up!"

"It's okay, we'll spar at Master Roshi's," Kakarot assured his disappointed cousin. "You come too Arale!"

Kaela frowned as she looked over the other girl up and down. "This is the other cousin," she said.

Arale grinned happily. "That's me!"

Arale was a unique little gem – a hybrid of human and Saiyan, she was the rare result of interbreeding between the races. Her mother, Turi, was Gine's younger sister, and her father was the local village doctor. The two had engaged in a secret relationship for several years before they were finally outed. Initially they were shunned by both the humans and Saiyans, but with time and the birth of Arale, people got used to their situation. It helped, too, that Arale was such a sweet, lovable child.

Well, lovable to some. Kaela was frowning deeper now. She'd met Arale before and had taken an immediate dislike to her, mostly because Arale had devastated her in a racing game. The hybrid's speed had to be seen to be believed, which was hard because she moved so fast. Kaela had enacted revenge by beating her up at the finish line, only to have Kakarot pull her away and give her a lecture about being "nice." Since then, Kaela looked on Arale as a rival, and so she grumbled to herself as Arale cheerily led the way towards Master Roshi's island.

* * *

Several hours later, Gine's family home was in a state of deep depression. Bardock, Kakarot, and Kaela were lying motionless on the floor, groaning and whimpering.

"I'm so hungry!" Kakarot moaned helplessly. "Do we have to wait for Raditz to come home?"

"Yes!" Gine was starving too, but she was sitting up resolutely at the table. No one would taste a single bite of food until her son was home safe and sound. They would have a family dinner, or there would be no dinner at all.

"Damn him!" Bardock yelled out. Never had he regretted having children as much as he had in this moment. True, he hadn't trained, but he'd still exerted quite a bit of energy, and now it felt like his stomach was about to collapse in on itself.

"We should have stayed at Master Roshi's," Kaela mumbled. "I bet they're having dinner right now." Thoughts of Krillin stuffing his big round head with all kinds of delicacies loomed, and she stuck her tongue out in a desperate attempt to lick her imagination.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for the starving Saiyans, there was a knock at the door. Gine scrambled to answer the as the rest of the family took this as their cue to finally dig in.

"You're home!"

Raditz smiled down at his mother. There was a time when she could put her arms around his shoulders instead of his waist, but that time was long gone. Still, it was nice to be hugged and welcomed home, especially when the rest of his family were too busy shoving food down their throats to notice his presence.

"Shame on you!" Gine yelled at her family. "You could at least wait to say hello!"

"Hi Radifsss," Kakarot offered around a mouth full of chicken and bread.

In response, Raditz came round and picked up his younger brother, who squealed in protest, and sat in his place, squishing himself in between his father, who nodded at him, and his tiny cousin, who was in a world of her own made entirely of food. He sat Kakarot in his lap and began to help himself from his brother's plate.

"Hey! That's not fair! This is my food Raditz, get your own!"

"Learn to share brat," Raditz grinned, poking his brother in the ribs playfully.

Gine smiled at the ridiculous scene. Raditz had been away for four months, but it was like he'd never been gone. For now, she would pretend that he would never leave again.

The next morning Raditz woke up leisurely. Somehow, he never slept quite as well as he did with brother's pudgy knees digging into his back and the sound of his snores in his ear. Kakarot was nestled in a pile of Raditz's hair, legs akimbo and drool leaking out of his wide open mouth. At the other end of the room Kaela was curled up in what was technically Raditz's bed, lips parted slightly.

Raditz smiled to himself as he sat up, stretching his arms. He knew all too well how rare these quiet moments were.

Sure enough, Kakarot was awake within a few minutes of his brother stirring. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and let them focus on the image of his brother sitting beside him in the white sleeveless shirt he'd worn to bed last night.

"You're here!" Kakarot cheered, throwing his arms around his older brother. "Did you get me anything?"

Raditz grinned and pinched his stomach playfully. Sometimes he would get his brother cheap trinkets from intergalactic markets they made stops at, although as a rule Frieza's soldiers were never allowed too much spending money while they were on duty. Any money Raditz earned was sent immediately to an account on Vegeta, where his mother could access it.

"Nah, sorry kid. There wasn't anything good this time."

"That's okay," Kakarot said contentedly as he slid off the bed. "I have to go to work, but we can play later."

"Isn't father training you these days?" Raditz asked.

"Oh yeah." Kakarot scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. "Well, you'll come too, right?"

"I don't know," Raditz teased. "You gonna show me party tricks again?"

"My kamehameha wave isn't a party trick!" Kakarot protested. "It's huge now, ask father!"

"Ugh!" Kaela's voice came from under the covers in the other bed. "Stop shouting! I'm trying to sleep!"

* * *

Later, when breakfast was finished and the two younger Saiyans had gone off to the farms, Raditz found himself alone with his parents for the first time in months, clearing away dishes.

"Um," he began, not sure exactly what to say. He had barely said two words to his father the night before, and breakfast had been spent teasing his brother and cousin. "Uh…," he tried again.

"For gods' sakes boy, what is it?" Bardock snapped, earning him a slap on the shoulder from his wife.

"General Nappa came to see me," Raditz blurted out.

A plate clattered to the floor as Gine stared at her son in shock. "Oh gods, Raditz! What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he said hurriedly. "Nothing, it's – look, I'm not in trouble or anything! Father sent him!" He pointed for emphasis.

Now Gine was staring at her husband, who was focusing his attention on a dish, scrubbing industriously. "What?!"

"He wants me to do some job. For Prince Vegeta." At that, Bardock looked up at his son, with a mix of surprise and – dare he hope? – pride on his face.

"Really?" Gine turned to her husband with a look of smug satisfaction, her grin a mile wide. "Is that so? Your father sent General Nappa to _you,_ to do a job for the prince himself. Isn't that interesting?"

Bardock sighed heavily. "Calm yourself woman. General Nappa said he had a special mission and he was looking for someone who was a decent fighter who didn't have any responsibilities in the army already. I told him I had a son who was about as useless as they come, and he'd be doing me a favor making something out of him. I had no idea the mission he was talking about was for the _prince."_ He glared at his son and added, "If I'd known I'd have recommended someone more competent."

But Gine wasn't having it. "You like your son!" she began to sing. "You like him, you like him!" Bardock turned and splashed her with water, and she squealed.

Fortunately for Raditz's continuing sense of respect for his parents, the teasing was interrupted by a knock at the door. Thanking the deities for this means of escape, the young man rushed to answer.

"Ah, Raditz." Master Gohan smiled gently at the Saiyan. "I had a feeling you'd be here."

 **A/N: I apologize for the huge delay in updating! My life has been a huge mess right now, and to be honest there's still a lot of upheaval. But I'm still working on this story (and on Consequences, which I'll be updating soon as well), so please bear with me, and continue to read and review!**


	9. Names and Games

"Oh, Master Gohan! Please, come in." Gine smiled graciously at the unexpected guest. Behind her, Bardock was trying to hide his irritation. This was not the first time Gohan had popped up at their doorstep, and Bardock was never happy to see him.

"Oh no," the old man said. "I don't wish to bother you. Miss Carma had asked if I could bring this along for little Kaela." He held out a small bag which Gine took.

"You've been seeing a lot of my mother lately," Bardock said, stepping forward. It was something that had been grating on his nerves ever since he'd found the man having tea in his family home.

If Gohan noticed the accusatory tone in Bardock's voice, he didn't show it. Instead he shrugged. "Your mother has been kind enough to send me a few things from the marketplace every now and then, and in exchange I run a few errands for her." He peered past the gathered family. "I suppose Goku's at the farms by now?"

"Kakarot," Bardock corrected pointedly. "Kakarot is at the farms, yes."

This was a long-standing point of contention between the two men, although Master Gohan was largely unaware of this. It was he who, many years ago when Kakarot had complained that his name was too long and "sounded mean," had suggested the name "Goku" as an alternative. Lots of people, he explained to the boy, used shortened versions of their names in everyday interactions. The small boy loved the idea and immediately adopted Goku as his second name.

Bardock _hated_ the name Goku. It had zero meaning in the Saiyan language, and moreover Bardock didn't care for the idea of nicknames. Kakarot was a good, proper Saiyan name. A little old-fashioned now, but it had been his grandfather's name, and his grandfather had been a great warrior. He'd suggested the name in the hopes that the boy would take after his side of the family in strength and prowess for battle. So what if it sounded mean? That was the _point,_ dammit!

"Ah well. I was hoping to ask him something." Master Gohan turned to Raditz. "Perhaps you could help?"

Raditz looked at his father, who was looking suspicious. Shrugging, he turned back to the human. "What can I help you with?"

"Why don't you walk Master Gohan back?" Gine suggested to her son. Bardock opened his mouth to protest, but she continued, "It's the least we can do after he came all this way to bring Kaela's things. Here, I'll come with you, I have to head to work anyway."

"That's very kind of you Miss Gine," he said, bowing slightly.

The three left Bardock fuming silently at the doorstep. Gine and Master Gohan made idle chitchat about the weather and "kids these days," until Gine turned for the path to the market, leaving Raditz alone with the old man.

"So what was it you needed help with?" Raditz asked.

"You seem worried," Gohan said instead. "Is anything troubling you?"

Raditz started. Something was, in fact, troubling him – in three days he would be at the palace, waiting to receive orders from the two most powerful people on the planet besides the king himself. He'd never even been to a city, let alone the capital. This would be a turning point in his life, and he was terrified at the prospect of doing something stupid and ruining it.

But he was not about to admit all that to this man. "I'm fine," he said. "What makes you think I'm worried?"

Gohan shrugged. "I thought I sensed some anxiety from you. Perhaps I was mistaken."

Raditz stopped suddenly. "You sensed anxiety," he repeated slowly.

Gohan nodded. "But if you insist you're fine…"

"You know, Kakarot's told me some strange things about you," Raditz interrupted, stepping up to the old man.

"Oh?"

"He told me that you told him that you can sense energy, that you can sense where people are and what they're doing."

"Ah!" Master Gohan said slowly. "I see. And what did you say to that?"

"I told him it wasn't possible, unless you were using magic. But he insisted that it was true, and that you were going to teach him."

Master Gohan sighed deeply, then placed a wrinkled hand on the young Saiyan's shoulder. "Let me tell you something very clearly, my boy, because it seems you've been talking to your father…"

"This has nothing to do with my father, this is about you and Kakarot…," Raditz began.

"Yes, exactly," Gohan continued, "and you need to know that despite what your father believes, I am not a magician, I am not putting spells on your brother, and I would never hurt him."

Raditz chewed his lower lip, his eyes boring into the man's in front of him, searching for deception and finding only sincerity in kindly face.

Still…

"How old are you?"

"Hmm?"

"How old are you?" Raditz repeated. "Father says you haven't aged at all since he was a little boy, and humans only live to be, what, 100? 110? So how old are you?"

Gohan chuckled. "You'd be surprised how long one can live if they eat well and stay active."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I suppose not," Gohan conceded. "Now, you used to work on the farms, right?"

"Yeah…"

"I've been trying to grow oranges near my house in the mountains, but it just doesn't seem to work. What should I do about that?"

Raditz stared at Master Gohan, who was looking back it him earnestly. Apparently, he really did want to discuss his oranges.

"Um, the soil is probably too rocky up there for oranges. You want to try apples or some other kind of fruit."

"Ah. What a pity. I do really like oranges. Oh well," he sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped. Well, I'll let you go now." And he began to amble away from Raditz.

"That's it?" the confused Saiyan called after him. "That's all you wanted to say to me? Oranges?"

Master Gohan paused, turning back to his comrade. "Hmm. I suppose I would also like to say, just because you don't understand something doesn't necessarily make it a bad or dangerous thing. Open your mind. There are so many mysteries in the world. You could be surprised at what you learn."

* * *

Meanwhile, Frieza's ship continued to float through the inky vastness of space, and Prince Zarbon received a visitor.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you," the Lacertan said as he and his guest sat down. "When I heard that Vegeta had been assigned as a mentor to your princess, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you sought me out."

Tonsa smiled at the prince. "And I imagined you would be expecting me as well. You're obviously a valuable ally to have – anyone can see that. But I preferred to approach you while Prince Vegeta is away."

"Indeed," Zarbon smirked. "You must tell me though, why is it that you are here?"

Tonsa raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You know Prince Vegeta perhaps better than anyone here, and I think you can understand that I have an interest in knowing his strengths and his weaknesses."

"That's not what I meant," Zarbon leaned forward a little. "What I meant was, why are you Hotsus here on this ship, working for Lord Frieza?"

Tonsa paused a moment, then asked, "What do you know about my people?"

"I know that you're an ancient civilization, and that you've been known to cultivate specific powers and abilities among your kind. I also know that you pride yourself on your independence."

"Yes," Tonsa replied quietly. "All of that is true. We _are_ an ancient civilization, older than perhaps any other in the universe, certainly older than any in this galaxy. And you could say that is our problem."

Zarbon arched an eyebrow curiously?

"Our planet is dying."

"Ah." There was no need to ask anything else – to Zarbon, that one sentence had answered his question and explained the Hotsus presence – Frieza was more than happy to accept financial compensation for the planets he acquired, but in some cases he would exchange a planet for services rendered. Clearly, that was the deal he had made with the Hotsus. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Let me ask instead," Tonsa smiled, leaning forward to rest a hand lightly on Zarbon's thigh, "what _I_ can do for _you."_

Zarbon chuckled lightly as he bent over to take her hand – and move it away from his leg. "There's nothing you can do for me there," he grinned, "but I think we can find some mutual interests."

* * *

Two hours later, Tonsa returned to the suite she and Amara were staying in while they served their time in Frieza's army. Inside, Amara was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, her bottom lip bleeding slightly from where she'd been chewing on it in nervousness. As soon as Tonsa came in, she jumped up. "Well?"

Tonsa smiled confidently as she strode across the room to sit next to the girl. "There's nothing to worry about. Zarbon will be a very useful and very willing ally, just like I told you."

"Did you have to…"

"No. And even if I did, it would be fine. I told you, it's a small price to pay for your safety."

"Okay," Amara replied. She squirmed a little, running her tongue across the bare patch on her lip. Despite her title, the princess knew from the beginning that Tonsa was the one who was really in charge. She was the one with the strategies and plans that would keep them both alive and well for the 50 years that the Hotsus were destined to spend working for the galaxy's overlord. And if there was anything that Amara wanted, it was to survive.

It was unfortunate that she would have to survive here, on this ship, but that couldn't be helped. It was, in essence, what Amara was for in a very literal sense.

It was true that the Hotsus were the most advanced civilization in the galaxy. They were particularly known for their ability to extend natural life and youth by several hundred years, a technique that had been later borrowed by surrounding planetary systems. What they were _not_ known for, but were significantly more interested in, where their achievements in the fields of genetics and reproduction.

When the Hotsus had realized that they needed a new planet, and that they had no other choice but to approach Frieza to provide them with one, they began to plan. They could purchase a planet outright, but Frieza would never let them do that – he'd been dying to dig his claws into their planet for centuries.

No, they would have to make a trade. And everyone knew Frieza loved royalty. A Hotsu princess would be too good for the Arcosian to pass up.

So Amara was made, piece by piece, designed to be beautiful, intelligent, and most of all, strong. She would be the most powerful Hotsu their civilization had seen in at least 200 hundred years.

Ironically, however, the power that Amara needed to survive Frieza was the power that doomed her in the eyes of many of her own kind. The Hotsus were not a suspicious type, but some ideas, some prophecies, were hard to let go of, and the Hotsus had one particular prophecy that many still believed. Not the Queen, certainly, who had commissioned Amara's creation and who had volunteered her own genetic material to make her, not Tonsa, who had vowed to protect her, not the higher members of the cabinet who had agreed to the plan that led to her birth. But there were still many that believed the prophecy, and that prophecy was this: that, at the end of the world, a warrior who was pure of heart and clear of conscious would appear with a power beyond anything that had ever been seen, anything that could even be imagined. And that warrior would spell the end of the Hotsus and everything they had built.

Amara was made to be that warrior. And the Hotsu's world was ending.


	10. Meetings in the City

_Gine was 20 when she joined Frieza's army – old, compared to most people in their first year. She had not wanted to join. She knew, deep down, that she didn't have the talent to be a fighter, but when her father died suddenly she was left with no choice. There was not enough money to be made in Arkisbe to support both herself and her eight-year-old sister. She went in knowing it would be difficult and terrifying._

 _It was worse than she could ever have imagined._

 _After the second time she'd almost died, Fasha, the only other woman in the troupe, was waiting for her when she came out of the infirmary._

 _"Feeling better?"_

 _Gine nodded silently, her eyes focused on the steel floors at her feet. Her face burned with shame – how could she meet the eyes of the older woman or any of the others in her troupe, after they'd witnessed how she'd succumbed to her opponent so easily, how Bardock had quite literally saved her pathetic life by intervening in what should have been her fight. She shouldn't be here, and everyone knew it._

 _"Why are you here, Gine?" Fasha asked quietly._

 _"I-I," Gine stammered, "I have to be."_

 _Fasha was quiet for a moment. Then, "You need the money."_

 _Gine nodded. She looked up quickly and caught the snarl of disgust on Fasha's face. Hot tears began to form in her eyes._

 _"You know who else is here because they need the money?" Fasha said. "Every last one of us." She stepped up to Gine, and the younger woman was forced to meet her gaze. "That's the only reason we're here, because we're all so fucking poor. Meanwhile," her voice lowered to a whisper, "the second and first-classers in the big cities are living the high life off the commissions from Frieza's planet sales, sales that_ we _work our asses to near-death to make!"_

 _Gine blinked, her mouth opening in surprise. She'd never heard anyone speak like this before about Frieza, and certainly not about second and firsters._

 _"You got family?" Fasha asked._

 _Gine nodded. "A sister. My dad died, and I'm the only one who can take care of her. She's staying with my aunt right now, but my aunt can't support her unless I send money."_

 _Fasha sighed heavily. "Same story every damn time. Come on little one," she put her arm around Gine's shoulders. "Let's get something to eat."_

* * *

Raditz woke up on the 24th with a pit of anxiety and dread in his stomach. He'd never been more nervous about an assignment before, and his parents were definitely not helping.

"Wow, I can't believe you get to go the big city!" Kakarot exclaimed over breakfast. "Can I come too?"

"Leave your brother alone, brat!" Bardock barked. "He needs to focus if he's not going to shame me in front of General Nappa, he doesn't need to be worrying about you too."

Raditz swallowed nervously.

"Have you ever been to the city Father?" Kakarot asked.

Bardock shook his head. "Why would I? There's nothing there for the likes of us."

"I went once."

Everyone turned to stare at Gine.

"What?! When was this?" Bardock asked in surprise.

"I went with Fasha once, when we got back from the Mordencai mission," Gine said. "We just went to have a look around, see what our hard work was paying for."

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?" her husband demanded.

"What's it like?" Kakarot asked, eyes wide.

"It's…," she paused for a moment as she began to recollect that long-ago trip, "it's like another planet. You can hardly believe you're still in Vegeta. The buildings are so huge and shiny, everything's so clean and it all looks so new. And there's so many people on the streets."

Kakarot's mouth formed a large 'O' as his mind filled with fantastical images. Gosh, the city must be magical! "Aw, I wanna go too! Please Raditz, take me with you!"

Bardock leaned over and smacked Kakarot up the head. "I said no!"

"Ow!" Kakarot rubbed his head. "I'm not asking you, I'm asking Raditz!"

Bardock was about to hit his son again, but Raditz interrupted. "Some other time, Kakarot. I have to go alone this time."

* * *

It was a long flight out to the main city. Kingdom Center was all the way on the other side of the planet and consisted of the palace complex, nestled between the eastern mountains and the southern sea, the complex of the royal guards, and the homes and workplaces of the humans who served the House of Vegeta.

Flanking Kingdom Center on its sides were North City and West City, named for their locations in relation to the palace complex. West City, located near the plains and just a few miles away from the sea, was where the elites of Planet Vegeta resided – relatives, near and far, of the royal family. North City was where the second-class of Vegeta lived, high-ranking generals, diplomats, and administrative officials. Humans lived in North City too, mixed in with the Saiyan population – they were the cream of the human crop, scientists, doctors, politicians, thinkers, philosophers who were often involved in big projects for the royal family and the Saiyan elites. Although the three cities were technically separate, they were close enough that most people thought of the three together as "the city."

Raditz landed in Kingdom Center and made his way towards the palace on foot, the prince's coin held tightly in his fist. The city was much busier than he'd expected, with guards patrolling the streets on foot and in the air, and humans and Saiyans alike rushing around purposefully. Some had badges with different insignias on them that Raditz couldn't make out – not that he would know what they meant anyway.

After what seemed like an eternity walking through the busy streets towards the huge spire that was the palace, the young Saiyan was finally at his destination. A quick flash of the coin granted him admittance into the palace and reluctant directions to the prince's chambers, where he was greeted by General Nappa.

"Hey, it's you!" the older man grinned, slapping him heartily on the back. "Right on schedule. What was your name again?"

"Raditz."

"Right, right. Come on in."

Nappa led Raditz into Prince Vegeta's rooms, and it was only then that it hit Raditz just how lavish the setting was. Kingdom Center was, of course, much brighter, larger, more extravagant that anything he'd ever seen before, but he'd been so nervous about this mission that he'd barely registered his surroundings. Now, for the first time, his eyes were open to just how removed the royal lifestyle was from his own meager one in Arkisbe.

As Raditz was staring, mouth open in wonder, at the plush sitting room he was in, Prince Vegeta walked in. He was in his formal armor and looking annoyed with the world at large.

"You came," he said as Raditz bowed.

"Of course, your highness," Raditz mumbled. "It's my honor to serve you in any way you desire."

"It certainly is," Vegeta said, plopping himself into one of the larger chairs. Raditz remained standing even as Nappa took a seat next to the prince, albeit in what was clearly a much less expensive chair. "Go ahead and fill him in, Nappa."

"Right," the general turned to the young man. "Lord Frieza has made a…special request of us. His operations are expanding into the southern quadrant of the galaxy, and he needs more soldiers. He's asked us to, uh," here he glanced at the prince, who was scowling, "to bring on some human fighters into our squads."

Raditz blinked. "What?"

"He wants us to recruit humans!" Vegeta spat. "What part of that exactly did you not understand?"

"Prince," Nappa whispered, trying to will his young charge to calm down. Instead, Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms. "Now," he continued, "we've chosen you to lead this effort. We don't really know how much these humans can take, they're pretty puny if you ask me, but it is what it is. We want you to put together a human troupe, maybe three or four fighters, so we can test them out and see how they do. If they survive, we'll expand the program to include more."

"You're…putting me in charge of a human troupe?" Raditz said. He wasn't sure he was hearing this correctly.

"Yeah. I know it's not as prestigious as having a proper Saiyan troupe," Nappa said, "but it's definitely a promotion. You'll be reporting directly to me as to the progress of your soldiers."

Raditz blinked again. His own troupe – but a human troupe? He wasn't sure how to feel about this. It was responsibility, which was something to be proud of, but it was obviously the kind of responsibility that was a burden rather than a reward. Humans _were_ puny, and if he assembled a squad and they all died on him, he'd never live it down. It would be the end of his career as a soldier and the destruction of his reputation.

On the other hand, he doubted he was being given a choice.

"I-I accept the assignment," he stammered, bowing again.

"Excellent," Nappa said. "You have two weeks to gather recruits. Then you'll report to me here, where your squad will undergo a training regimen to prepare them for life in Frieza's army." The large man got up and went to a desk in the corner of the room, from which he pulled out a small electronic device. He came over to Raditz and handed it to him. "This is an order, signed by the prince and bearing his insignia. It gives you the right to recruit whoever you like."

Raditz turned on the device and it's plexiglas screen blinked at him. Sure enough, the screen said the following:

-The bearer of this device is a representative of His Royal Highness Prince Vegeta. His orders are law.

Underneath that was the prince's signature and the same stamp that was on the coin Raditz still had in his hand.

"What about my troupe, with Master Cabe?" Raditz asked as he inspected the device. It looked like the communicators they had back home, but it didn't seem to do anything else other than display the prince's message.

"I'll sort it out," Nappa said, waving a hand dismissively. Then he turned to the prince, who gave him a curt nod. Immediately the general stood up, and Raditz understood this to mean that he was being dismissed.

Nappa escorted Raditz out of the prince's chambers and down the hall to the elevator that would take him to the ground floor and out of the palace so he could make his way home.

"You know what you oughta do?" Nappa said as they walked. "Take the tram out to North City."

"The what?"

"The tram. It's like a transportation thing, ya know?" he waved his hands vaguely in the air. "For the humans to get around, 'cause a lot of 'em can't fly."

"Yes, but I can," Raditz said. "What's the point in taking this tram?"

"Well this is your first time in the city, isn't it? It'll be a scenic tour for ya, give you something to tell your friends back home about. Here!" Nappa said, pointing at an older human man carrying a large pile of papers and waiting at the elevator door.

Nappa strode up the man and grabbed him by the shoulders, startling him so badly that he dropped several of the papers. "Oops," Nappa chuckled. "Pick that up for the good doctor Raditz."

Raditz bent down to gather the papers as Nappa began to chit-chat with the human.

"How've you been Dr. Briefs?"

"Oh very well, thank you General," the man responded. "I'm so sorry, I would bow, but…," and he gestured with his chin at the still large pile he was carrying.

"That's alright. Listen, you taking the tram out north?" Dr. Briefs nodded. "Take Raditz with you, show him the sights."

And just like that, he turned around and went back, leaving Raditz alone with the doctor and his papers.

Dr. Briefs smiled at him as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Well, off we go then my boy."

 **A/N: Whoop whoop, new DB character appears! For those of you wondering, I do have plans for almost every major character in the DB/DBZ series, Bulma included, so stay tuned! This also won't be the last time we visit Vegeta on his home turf. And to the reviewer, MXMA, who rightly pointed out that Gohan is way to short to pat Raditz on his shoulder - that actually really annoyed me when I was rereading the chapter, but I just didn't know how to fix it! Maybe he could have patted his elbow? LOL.**

 **More Goku and Krillin the next few chapters, as well as some DB/DBZ characters as well. Thanks so much for all your follows and reviews! They keep me motivated to write!**


	11. Strange People and Strange Places

Feeling rather confused and disoriented, Raditz, still carrying the papers he'd picked up from the floor, followed Dr. Briefs out of the elevator and down a long hall till they reached a platform.

"This is the tram!" Dr. Briefs announced as he climbed aboard one of the cars that was waiting on a set of rails. It seemed kind of flimsy to Raditz, but he followed the doctor anyway and sat down next to him. A few minutes later, the car jolted forward as the tram began to move.

"Now, where exactly are you going my boy?" Dr. Briefs asked.

"Home, I live in a village in the north," Raditz replied.

"Ah, well then, you'll get off at the last stop and fly the rest of the way, I expect. That's my stop actually. I live in a compound right on the edge of North City. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called Capsule Corporation."

Raditz reached into the pocket in his bodysuit and pulled out the device General Nappa had given him. He flipped it over and inspected the logo emblazoned on the back, a bold "C" with a circle around it. "Is this Capsule Corporation?" he asked, holding it out to show his travel companion.

"That's it," Dr. Briefs grinned. "We make a lot of things for the royal family."

"But…you're a doctor?"

"Yes. Raditz, Raditz, Raditz," the doctor mumbled to himself. "Is that a family name?"

"Um, sort of…," Raditz began, feeling confused again. What were they talking about now?

"That's very good. It's very important to preserve family names. When I had my girls, I insisted on family names for both of them."

"Uh…," Raditz was starting to get a little disturbed by this conversation, but Dr. Briefs was an old man and he worked for the royal family, and so he thought it prudent to be polite. "What are your daughters' names?"

"I have Tights and Bulma."

"Oh." _Good gods._

"Very good, traditional family names. My wife was against it, but I insisted. Do you have children?"

"No," Raditz said, a little more insistently than he had intended – Dr. Briefs was proving to be a more erratic conversationalist than he had anticipated. "I'm only 26."

"Ah yes, yes. That's very young for you Saiyans, isn't it? Yes, indeed. My Tights is 18, and Bulma is 15. Not too much younger than you really."

"Yeah." Raditz paused for a second, then tried to steer the conversation back to where it had started. "What is your job, exactly?"

"I work for King Vegeta," Dr. Briefs said simply.

"You're his doctor?"

"Oh no, my boy. I'm not a _medical_ doctor," the man chuckled. "I'm a scientist. I make inventions, do experiments, that sort of thing."

"Oh," Raditz nodded. He hoped he looked less stupid than he felt.

"Yes, yes," Dr. Briefs continued. "I want my daughters to work in the field too, but Tights is so stubborn. She has no interest in my work. All she wants to do is read novels and write poetry all day." Dr. Briefs shook his head. "But Bulma, now she has some real talent. She'll take over Capsule Corp. some day."

"But she is the younger child?" Raditz pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't take stock in such things. I go by talent and skill, my boy. That's the key to real progress."

Radtiz nodded again, but he didn't feel like he understood anything. Dr. Briefs was unlike any human he'd ever met before. "Do you work directly under King Vegeta? I didn't think humans were allowed to do that."

"Well, I report to General Paragus" – Raditz had never heard that name before – "but I _work_ for King Vegeta," Dr. Briefs said. "Everything I do, I do for our king and our people."

"Our people?" Raditz asked, even more confused than before.

"The Vegetans," Dr. Briefs said. "We may be different species, you and I, but this planet unites our interests and our allegiances."

Raditz didn't really understand what that meant, but he nodded along anyway as Dr. Briefs launched into a lecture about distribution of resources under the Galactic Empire. This was going to be a _long_ ride.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the prince and his guard, Raditz was probably the best man they could have chosen for this particular mission. Not only was he from the most integrated village on the planet, he also had a unique connection to the human martial arts world through his brother's relationship with the old Master Roshi. In fact, the master's island home was where he was heading now. If anyone could help Raditz form a human fighting squad, it was him.

The Saiyan landed on Kame Island and wondered, not for the first time, how anyone could live in such a small place, let alone a family of three. Raditz was admittedly a big guy even by Saiyan standards, but he completely dwarfed the pink house that stood resolutely in the sand.

Shaking his head, he knocked on the door and was answered by a blonde and very irritable Launch.

"Whaddya want?" she demanded, hands on her hips, blocking the doorway.

"Is Master Roshi in?" Raditz asked, ignoring her hostile attitude.

"Hey Uncle Roshi!" Launch called out as she attempted to glare the much larger man down. "Do I let this guy in or what?!"

"Let him in Launch!" Roshi responded from inside. The young woman moved aside, scowling, to let Raditz squeeze through.

"In here!" Roshi called out, and Raditz followed the voice into the tiny bathroom only to immediately backpedal, tripping over his own feet as he attempted to escape the sight in front of him.

The old man was wielding what appeared to be wax strips and standing rather menacingly over a very red-faced Krillin. "Now," he was saying, "hold still this time and it'll go a lot faster."

Krillin nodded, whimpering just a little.

"What's going on in here?" Raditz demanded, his face contorted in shock and fear.

"What's it look like?" Roshi snapped. "I'm waxing the boy's head."

 _"Why?!"_

"A true martial artist" – Krillin squeaked as his great-uncle tore off a strip – "keeps his head completely hairless. It's a mark of discipline and commitment."

 _Good gods,_ Raditz thought, _these are the people Kakarrot spends all his time with. He hasn't tried to wax his head, has he?!_

"What brings you to these parts anyway?" Roshi asked.

"Uh…," in the craziness of the last two minutes, he had completely forgotten what he'd come here for. "I need some information from you," he said finally.

"Alright," Roshi said. "Wait in the living room, we'll be out in a minute."

Relieved, Raditz practically ran out of the bathroom and settled on the couch in the living room. Launch meanwhile was hovering the kitchen, glaring daggers into her house-guest and not even trying to hide it.

Raditz sighed and leaned back in his seat. There was no love lost between the two of them, although Raditz couldn't see why that should be. So he'd laughed when his friend had clumsily grabbed her ass that one time at the bar, so what? He'd been drunk – _they were all drunk, it was the damn bar –_ and it had seemed funny at the time. It wasn't his fault she'd gone off the rails and broke the guy's nose, and it _definitely_ wasn't his fault she'd been fired as a result.

Clearly though, Launch felt differently. Raditz was tempted to tell her to get him a drink, but he resisted. He was a guest in this house, and he needed a favor.

A few minutes later Roshi and Krillin came in. "What can I do for you, my boy?" the Master asked as he took a seat across from him.

"Well, uh," Raditz cleared his throat and drew himself up a little, "you used to teach fighting to some human boys, right?"

Roshi chuckled. "Yes, but that was a long time ago! Most of my students are probably grandparents by now."

Raditz frowned. "You don't have any younger students? Like my age?"

"Why are you asking?" Roshi raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I'm looking to recruit some human fighters for, uh, a special mission for Prince Vegeta," Raditz said. It was best not to mention Frieza or the Galactic Army now, lest Roshi think this was some sort of punishment.

"Oh my! Well well, it seems you're moving up in the world, my boy!"

Raditz gave him a reluctant smile. "Yeah, sorta. I'm looking for the best human fighters available. Come on, you must have some suggestions?"

"Hmm," Roshi took his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "Well, most of my students are old men now. I haven't taken on any new students in many years. Except for Krillin, of course," he smiled about the boy, who was still looking a little traumatized, "but he's family. Although," and now he leaned forward a little as his eyes lit up in recollection, "there was one a few years ago."

Raditz nodded encouragingly.

"Actually you might know him. Your father is from Fire Mountain, isn't he?"

"Ter-Khader," Raditz corrected. "Fire Mountain is where the humans live."

Roshi nodded. "It must have been nearly five years ago now. I took on a young boy as a favor to the Ox King – you know he was a student of mine too? Anyway, the boy was his nephew or something like that. Yes, yes," Roshi nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. "Yamcha was his name. Do you remember him, Krillin?"

Krillin nodded. "Yeah. You made us share a room, remember?"

"Now that I think of it, he was a very talented young man. In fact," Roshi said, "I would go as far as to say he was the best student I'd ever had. If I didn't know any better, I'd say there was a little Saiyan in him."

"Great!" Raditz exclaimed. "Where is he now? Fire Mountain?"

Roshi nodded. "You just go up there and ask around for him, they all know him up there."

"Alright. Who else?"

"Who else?!" Roshi exclaimed. "That's it!"

"You don't have anyone else you can recommend to me? At all?"

"Well, unless you want to take Krillin," Roshi shrugged. "He's shaping up to be even better than Yamcha, and I'm not just saying that because he's my grandnephew either."

Krillin beamed. Raditz, however, was less impressed. "Maybe next time. For now, I'm looking for adults," he said, trying not to sound as frustrated as he felt.

Roshi shrugged again. "Yamcha used to participate in these little tournaments in some of the larger towns. I told him not to do it. A true martial artist uses his skill to help others, not to show off or for material gain. But young people these days!" he harrumphed. "You can't teach them anything! Anyway, he might be able to find a few other people."

Raditz nodded and stood up. This was not as useful as he'd hoped, but it was a start. "Thank you, Master Roshi," he said, leaning forward to shake the older man's hand.

"You're very welcome. Actually," Roshi said, "since you're here, would you take Krillin and Launch with you to the mainland?"

"You want me to fly them over?"

"I can fly," Krillin piped up. "It's Launch that's the problem. She's too heavy for me to carry."

"It's alright, Uncle Roshi," Launch called out. She was standing in the kitchen doorway now, arms crossed and disapproval marring her otherwise pretty features. "We'll just take the boat."

"This'll be a lot faster though," Roshi pointed out.

"How are they going to get back?" Raditz asked.

"They're not. Launch and Krillin are visiting their father's relatives in Ter-Zare for a few days."

 _Damn._ Raditz thought to himself. There was no getting out of this one politely.


	12. Jaded Justice

As Raditz was in the midst of the most bizarre day of his life, his little brother was undergoing a brutal training session with Bardock, who was determined to push his son as far as he could possibly go in the short time he had left with him.

To his credit, Kakarrot had continuously proven to be more of a challenge than Bardock had ever anticipated. The boy was improving exponentially, and he was demonstrating skills Bardock had never seen before.

Bardock stood very still, his eyes darting around him as he tried to make out the many iterations of his son that he was suddenly surrounded by. "There you are," he grinned, kicking out and hitting…nothing but thin air.

"Ya missed me!" Kakarot squealed, and Bardock looked up just in time to see his son slam his fists into his forehead. He stumbled backwards, determined to keep his balance as his forehead throbbed with the impact, giving his son just enough time to roundhouse kick him in the chest, causing him to tumble backwards onto his rear.

"Hahah!" Kakarot cheered, jumping up and down in delight at this unexpected victory. "I'm the best! I beat you!"

Bardock swore under his breath and lifted a palm to quickly blast his son into the nearest rock formation.

Kakarot howled at the impact, and when the dust finally cleared his father was standing over him, smirking triumphantly. "Hey!" he protested. "No fair!"

"Let that be a lesson to you, boy," Bardock said as he grabbed his son by the front of his shirt and pulled him out of the rubble, "never let your guard down. A fight doesn't end until your enemy is dead." With that, he unceremoniously dumped him onto the ground.

"I don't wanna kill anyone. That's no fun," Kakarot protested as he dusted himself off.

"Life isn't about just having fun all the time," Bardock said. "One day when you're a real warrior, you'll find that the attitude gets you killed. Better you learn this now with me than on a real battlefield." He paused for a moment, then added, "That was an interesting technique you used. Tricky. I suppose Master Roshi taught you that too?"

"Yeah!" Kakarot smiled. "It's called the after-image technique. I'm really good at it – Master Roshi only taught us to make one image, but I can make four!"

"You shouldn't compare yourself to the humans. You're a Saiyan, you were born to be a warrior."

"Yeah! I'm gonna be the strongest fighter in the universe!"

Bardock grinned at the childish proclamation. "I expect nothing less. Now come on, we're going to miss dinner. We still have to pick up your cousin."

Kaela's rivalry with Arale had taken on new heights since the two had become reacquainted. Unable to accept defeat at the hands of a half-breed, Kaela was determined to best the purple-haired girl once and for all. She was spending almost all of her free time at Arale's house just outside the town, having racing "games" that she had yet to win. Arale, meanwhile, was happy to simply have a new friend.

Arale and her family – Kakarot's aunt, human uncle, and now, their new baby – lived in a house about a half-mile outside of Arkisbe's official limits. It was something of a self-imposed exile – after Turi's relationship with Dr. Toriyashi was outed, a heavily pregnant and stressed out Gine had all but kicked her younger sister out of their family house.

"You would never have done this if Father were alive!" she'd screamed, tears streaming down her red face.

Before Turi could respond, Gine had collapsed onto the floor cushions, Kakarot's growth draining her of what little energy she had.

So Turi moved out.

The relationship between the sisters had never fully recovered. Bardock, who'd never had a particularly good relationship with his sister-in-law in the first place, had never been to Turi's house before, but Kakarot and Raditz were regular visitors.

It was a big house compared to most of the huts humans lived in, but it was also much more rundown. As good a doctor as he was, Toriyashi had a habit of starting projects he couldn't complete, and this included several half-finished extensions on the house.

Bardock picked up Kaela, who had showing Arale how she could weld two pieces of metal with her _ki,_ and had to practically drag Kakarot out of there before Arale's parents showed up.

The three made their way towards the town. As they neared the town center it became clear that there was some sort of commotion going on. A group of Saiyans and humans, including Raditz, Krillin, and Launch, had gathered in the square, forming a circle around one of the older stall owners, who was yelling animatedly.

"What the hell is going on?" Bardock demanded as he pushed his way through the crowd towards his oldest son, who was standing closer to the commotion.

Raditz turned at the sound of his father's voice. "Master Ruyo caught two kids stealing from his stall," he explained. He'd been walking Krillin and Launch to the bus stop that transported humans between different villages, in an attempt to be polite, when the noise coming from the square caught their attention.

Kakarot and Kaela squeezed between the adults to join Krillin at the front of the crowd.

"Hey!" Kakarot said. "I recognize those two! That's the mean boy and girl who were bullying Arale!"

Sure enough, the blonde girl and her dark-haired brother were currently being held by the scruff of their shirts by a very irate older man. "Shame on you!" he was yelling. "How dare you steal from me? Do you know how hard we all work here? And you two think you can come in here and take our hard-earned money? Shame!"

Krillin nodded sagely. It was a terrible thing to do, stealing from your fellow villagers. If you couldn't trust your neighbors and your mother's kin, who could you trust?

He couldn't help but feel sorry for them, though. Well, sorry for the girl, if he was being honest with himself. She was really pretty. For a split second, her icy blue eyes met his own deep dark ones and he attempted to give her a comforting half-smile. She made no indication that she'd even noticed, turning her head to stare at the ground.

"Do you know what the punishment is for naughty children like you who behave so badly?" Master Ruyo was saying. "Miss Peach!" he called out. "Get me my cane!" He leaned forward, pulling the two children closer to him as the older woman hobbled towards his stall. "I'm going to teach you two a lesson."

A murmur of approval passed through the crowd. Naughty children got lashed, everyone knew that. Kakarot, however, frowned slightly at this announcement. _They are really mean,_ he thought to himself, _and stealing is wrong. But I feel kinda bad for 'em."_ He looked up to see his father nodding in approval, then turned back to the angry faces of Lapis and Lazuli. _Maybe it won't hurt so bad._

Unbeknownst to him, the twins had no intention of being subjected to any kind of punishment and were in fact preparing an escape plan. They wouldn't get the chance to use it, however.

"Wait." The voice was emotionless but loud, and Kakarot and company looked round to see the large form of Jasper make its way to the center of the crowd.

At nearly 6'7", Jasper was by far the tallest human in Arkisbe and his arrival had elicited much attention and gossip. Combined with his pale blue eyes and shock of bright red hair, so different from other humans in the area, Jasper stood out wherever he went. He took on odd jobs all over town and gave only the vaguest of answers whenever anyone asked about his background or his family, making him and his siblings the perfect subject for wild rumors.

Kakarot and Krillin were rather fond of Jasper. He worked on a farm nearby in the mornings, and they'd met him a few times. He was always friendly and helpful, if distant and a little odd, what with his monotone voice and his single-minded focus on every task he undertook. It was hard to believe that his brother and sister could be such delinquents.

"Wait," he repeated, positioning himself between Master Ruyo and his siblings. "You cannot hit the children."

Master Ruyo glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You cannot hit the children," Jasper said again.

Ruyo's glare deepened, and he walked right up the larger and poked him authoritatively in the stomach. It would have been a hilarious visual if the situation weren't so serious. "Now look here, my boy, I don't know how they do things out where you're from, but 'round here we take this kinda thing very seriously. You're a good worker an' all, but we can't have your brother and sister here running around causing trouble for hard-working folks. They need to learn their lesson!"

Echoes of "Yeah!" and "That's right!" came from the crowd. Jasper, however, was immovable.

"You cannot hit the children. I will punish them at home. They will not do this again."

Ruyo paused for a moment as he considered this. On the one hand, it was unheard of for thieving children to be let off the hook like this. On the other hand, Jasper was a _really big guy,_ and Ruyo was not sure what would happen if he insisted.

He would not get the opportunity to make a decision either way, for the standoff was quickly interrupted.

"I'm afraid that's not an option."

The crowd parted to make way for the voice's owner, a short and very elderly female Saiyan, her graying tail wrapped neatly around her waist and a self-assured smirk on her face.

"Uh oh," Raditz said under his breath. Next to him, Bardock grinned gleefully. Launch took a step back, only to bump into the person behind her, who was craning his neck to get a better view.

"Lady Suqosa!" Master Ruyo bowed deeply to her as she approached him. Jasper followed his example, while Lapis and Lazuli, each hiding behind one of their brother's large legs, stubbornly stayed standing.

Technically, every village had a representative of the king whose job it was to enforce laws and collect taxes. Practically, however, most villages were actually governed by one or two older Saiyan women, their authority stemming naturally from a combination of age and strength, and most of them could trace their lineages in their home village back at least five or six generations. They were addressed as "Lady" instead of the more common "Miss" out of respect, and as far as day-to-day governing was concerned, their word was law. Lady Suqosa had been the matriarch of Arkisbe for close to 30 years, and she had a reputation for ruling with an iron fist.

Lady Suqosa stood directly in front of Jasper, the top of her gray, spiky hair barely reaching his chest. "Your brother and sister have done a terrible thing," she said to him, leaning to the side slightly to shoot the twins a nasty smirk. "We need to make an example out of them, otherwise what will the other children learn? That they can behave this way without consequence?" Here she turned to the crowd and smiled confidently at the nodding heads.

"You cannot hit the children," Jasper said for the fourth time.

A shocked silence fell over the crowd. "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Bardock hissed. Raditz shrugged. Whatever Jasper thought he was doing, things were clearly going to end badly for him.

Sure enough, Lady Suqosa's face was contorting with irritation and spite. "You know," she said, her voice lowering menacingly, "you came into our town without ever explaining where you came from or why you left your home. It seems now that you don't like the way we do things here. Perhaps you need to go back to where you came from."

There was a long silence. Time slowed.

Finally, Jasper spoke again. This time, he said, "I will bear the children's punishment."

 _"What?"_ Lady Suqosa hissed.

"Punish me instead," Jasper clarified. "Punish me, and you have my word that they will not do this again."

"No!" Lapis cried out. In a blur of movement, he and his sister were standing in front of Jasper, crouching in a defensive stance. "No! We won't let you hurt him!"

A vicious grin spread over Lady Suqosa's wrinkled face. She wasn't planning on accepting the young man's proposal – punishing someone for another person's crime was unheard of – but the looks of fear and anger on the twins' faces had convinced her that there were, perhaps, other ways of teaching people to behave. "Fine," she said. "Ruyo, what were you going to give them?"

"Uh," the older man was absolutely bowled over by this turn of events, "five each?"

"Then you will give this boy ten lashes on behalf of his brother and sister."

"That's not fair!" Kakarot cried out. He made to rush over to Jasper's defense only to be overwhelmed by a shock of pain and a wave of lethargy. His legs gave out from under him and he fell into the dust.

Bardock had grabbed his tail, pulling him back away from the scene of the crime. "Don't you dare," he hissed at him.

"Uh…," he moaned. "Father, let…go…."

But Bardock only tightened his grip.

Kakarot watched helplessly as Lapis made to defend his guardian. "You're a nasty old hag!" he yelled as he lashed out at her, fists flailing, only to be resolutely blocked with an energy shield by the older woman that sent him flying backwards.

"Ruyo," she called out sharply, "that'll be five more for the name-calling, and five more for daring to raise a hand to his elders." She turned to meet Lazuli's burning gaze. "Do you have something to say as well?"

Lazuli gritted her teeth but said nothing.

"Very well, let's begin."

Jasper removed the loose, long-sleeved tunic he was wearing, and a gasp of horror passed through the crowd.

His back and chest, broad and rippling with tight muscles, were crisscrossed with scars. Big and small, thick and thin, dark and light, they seemed to cover every inch of available skin.

Master Ruyo gulped. "Well," he said apologetically as he picked up his cane, "at least we know you can take a beating?"

Jasper said nothing. Instead, he got down on his knees to give the shorter human easier access.

The cane smacked loudly against his flesh as it came down. "One," Ruyo counted.

Jasper didn't wince or budge. He did nothing but stare resolutely ahead with pale, empty eyes, as his brother and sister watched on in shame.

"Harder!" Lady Suqosa commanded, and the cane came down again, louder this time.

"Two."

"No," Kakarot whimpered. "It's…not fair…"

Krillin leaned down and patted his friend on the shoulder in a halfhearted attempt at comforting.

"Three."

He looked over at the little blonde girl, cowering at the scene, tears in her eyes, her broken expression a stark contrast to her brother's blank face.

"Four."

It seemed like the punishment would never end.

 **A/N: This took me a long time to write - it was initially much longer, so I hope you like it! Please continue to rate and review. Thank you for your support!**


	13. Scars

_It was cold in these halls, but even as the thought crossed his mind his body had already begun to adjust, regulating his internal temperature until the cold was just a tickle at the edge of his senses._

 _It was always like that now. There were some senses that were heightened, some reactions that came like lightening, but everything else seemed to come as if through a heavy sludge._

 _But this was not the time to mourn what he had lost, what had been taken from him. This was the time to run like hell before the explosion he had caused caught up with him. With them. Already he could hear the screaming, the popping of electricity as the whole operation began to unravel. There was a roar of anger, and he wondered fleetingly if someone had found the body._

 _The hall began to close off as it neared its underground end, and his eyes adjusted automatically to the fading light. The exit was in his sight now; in one smooth movement, he pushed the child under his right arm up onto his shoulder, allowing him to raise his palm and blast the hatch in the ceiling so that he could fly up and out of the metal hellhole._

 _He hovered in the air for a few seconds, watching as the blast he'd set off before his escape triggered the collapse of the underground cavern._

 _It was over. Finally, it was all over._

 _Well, not really. Jasper put down the children he'd carried and took a moment to inspect them carefully. There were two of them, twins, as he'd understood, a boy and a girl. He'd knocked them unconscious before hauling them out of the underground lab, and now they lay with eyes closed, strands of hair covering their pale faces._

 _He bent over the first one, the boy, Lapis, and began to carefully peel his shirt from his body, rolling him between his large hands. The scars were healing well, which was good. The damage had been done, of course – it had been too late to save them from that. But at least he'd gotten them out before the worst of it had begun. At least they wouldn't be like him._

 _Otherwise, the boy looked fine. He turned to the girl, Lazuli, and inspected her as well – she, too, was fine, or as fine as could be expected given what they'd been through._

 _He plopped onto the ground next to the unconscious children. Now what?_

* * *

"Why'd you stop me?! I had to stick up for Jasper, he didn't do anything wrong!" Kakarot had grabbed his father's pant legs, his face bright red with anger, tears pricking at his eyes.

Bardock breathed out deeply through his nose and squeezed his fists harder, the knuckles going white with barely controlled frustration. "It was none of your business," he said, teeth gritting. "It wasn't any of our business! Lady Suqosa makes the rules, and if she thinks that Jasper of yours should pay for his siblings…"

"No!" Kakarot yelled. "That's not fair! She shouldn't make the rules if she's just going to be mean."

Bardock's patience broke. They'd been arguing about this since leaving the market square, and the Saiyan patriarch had had enough. This was more than he had ever put up with from anyone, let alone his 11-year-old son. His tail lashed out from behind him almost of its own accord and caught Kakarot across the cheek, sending him flying across the room, into the wall, and flat on his face.

"Bardock!" Gine screamed. She rushed to her son and helped him sit up; there was an ugly red gash on his cheek and a large, rapidly-darkening bruise on his forehead. "For gods' sakes, what's wrong with you?"

Bardock blinked at the scene. His son, on the floor bleeding. His wife screeching at him. He'd hit Kakarot plenty of times before – just this morning he'd beaten the snot out of him. But this, this was different. He'd never drawn blood before.

He turned and went to his room.

"Bardock!" Gine yelled, pushing herself to her feet to stomp after him. "Bardock, you get back here!"

Kakarot covered his face with his hands and sobbed quietly. It wasn't the physical pain that hurt him as much as the sense of injustice, and the feeling of helplessness. He wanted to able to do something, to stand up for himself and for everyone who needed it, but he just wasn't strong enough, and for the first time in a long time he felt truly stupid.

"Hey."

Kakarot looked up at his brother through bleary eyes.

"Here, let's see." Raditz was on his knees next to him. He cupped Kakarot's face and twisted it a little to examine the cut. "Ah, that's not so bad. C'mon, get up."

Still sniffling, Kakarot wobbled up on to his feet and wiped his tears. Raditz frowned at him. "You need to stop arguing with everyone over everything. It gets you nowhere, you oughta know that by now."

"I don't argue with everyone!" Kakarot protested.

"Oh yeah?" Raditz stood up to better disapprove at his little brother. "Because I could've sworn you were about to take on Lady Suqosa in the town square, and you picked a fight with Father when we got home."

"I didn't pick a fight!"

"Yes you did, Kakarot. Father would have let the whole thing go if you had just nodded and agreed with him when he told you not to talk back to him. But you can never do that. You always have to argue over everything."

"I just don't think it's fair what she did. Jasper didn't do anything wrong, and someone already hurt him real bad! You saw!"

Raditz _had_ seen, and he'd marked it away for future reference. For now, he focused on the problem in front of him. "Life isn't fair, Kakarot. Besides, Jasper wanted to take the punishment for his siblings. If anything, Lady Suqosa did him a favor. And Father was right to stop you from interfering. You're a child. It's not for you to decide what is and isn't fair anyway."

Kakarot frowned a little. It was always the same thing, every time. You're just a kid. You don't get to decide. Listen to your elders. Stop arguing. What do you know, anyway?

Well, that didn't change a thing. Just because he was still little, still weak, didn't mean he couldn't tell right from wrong, Kakarot thought sullenly as his brother put him to bed. What had happened _wasn't_ fair, and Lady Suqosa was just being mean. He'd seen the look on her face, that self-satisfied smirk. That wasn't the look of someone trying to do the right thing. And even if Jasper did want to take the punishment, she shouldn't have let him. No one should be punished for something they didn't do.

He curled up under the thin blanket and peered out from underneath him to watch his brother change his clothes for bed. Raditz, too, was scarred, along his back and on his stomach. There was a newer one now, he noticed, along his upper thigh. He shuddered a little. He knew, of course, that Raditz got hurt working. Father too. But that was part of fighting, and at least in a fight you had a chance to defend yourself. Father and Raditz could hold their own no problem, and they always did, which is why they came home. Because in real fights, as his father has so pointedly said to him, you either won or you died.

Kakarot felt his stomach clench violently, and wondered, as Raditz climbed into bed next him, if Jasper had fought for his scars just as Raditz had fought for his.

* * *

The next morning, Raditz climbed quietly out of bed so as not to disturb his snoring brother. His plan was to get to Ter-Khader early, so that he'd be able to visit a few more villages before returning to Arkisbe in time for lunch. With any luck, this job would be over by the end of the day, and he could maybe relax a little.

For a moment, as he rummaged around in the kitchen looking for fruit he could take with him for a snack, Raditz wondered if he should wake up Kakarot and bring him along. It might be better to get him out of the house and away from his father, if only so that they wouldn't end up having the same argument all over again. Kakarot had an unbelievable knack for not getting a hint.

On the other hand, Kakarot also had an unbelievable knack for forgiveness. More than likely, Raditz thought, his brother would wake up his usual cheerful self, bright eyes looking forward to a new day. Better to leave him, then, and focus on the task at hand.

Sibling relationships among Saiyans were often tense. Natural-born fighters, Saiyans were wired to see siblings as competition not only for resources, but for the affection and attention of their parents. When Kakarrot had been born, he'd taken up every ounce of energy Gine had. He demanded constant attention and threw violent temper tantrums when he felt ignored. On top of that, breastfeeding him left Gine exhausted, barely able to get out of bed.

Raditz was insanely jealous of his baby brother. He begrudged Kakarrot every second Gine or Bardock spent with him, but at 15 he was expected to understand that this was just how Saiyan infants were. So he stewed in a resentment that grew as Raditz joined the Galactic Frieza Army and had even less time to spend with his family.

It came as a bit of a surprise, then, that Raditz's relationship with Kakarot drastically improved after the accident. It wasn't that he was no longer the center of attention – if anything, Gine became even more attached to him, monitoring him carefully lest he should injure himself again. But the two-year-old simply had no interest in being the family focus. He certainly enjoyed it, but didn't go ballistic if attention were to shift away from him.

It helped that he was much fonder of Raditz than he had been previously. Although he didn't fully understand the concept of a brother, he enjoyed sharing a room with what, to him, was a newcomer. Within a few days of Raditz's first vacation after the accident, Kakarot had taken to regailing him with tales of his activities at the end of each day, even after Raditz pointed out that he already knew what Kakarot had been up to, since he'd been there.

Raditz had approached this new development with some aloofness. There was something unnatural about having a sibling be _this_ fond of you. His mother and his aunt had been close by Saiyan standards, and even they had led largely separate lives. But it wore on you, all this… _niceness_. The sincerity of it all. The expectation that you would reciprocate. The big smile and shining eyes.

In another universe, where Kakarot had been the man he was supposed to be, Raditz was a hard-hearted, blood-thirsty warrior with no regard for anyone or anything. In this one, he was still a hard-hearted, blood-thirsty warrior, except for when he was giving his brother baths or taking him to the market to buy sweet rolls.

Raditz landed just outside the human village, which was technically a part of Ter-Kader but was more often called Fire Mountain, a reference to an old legend, and began striding purposefully towards the Ox-King's palace.

He was getting a lot of attention. Saiyans didn't often come up to Fire Mountain, especially not without notice, and the villagers couldn't help but stare at the towering man in his dark armor. It was an intimidating sight, and Raditz was carving a path through the villagers as they scattered out of his way.

A mile out from his destination, a young man appeared in the middle of the street.

"Hi!"

Raditz stopped mid-step, gave him a once-over, and scowled. He didn't need any delays.

The man, or rather the boy, since he looked rather young, was all smiles in the face of Raditz's hostility, bowing politely in greeting. "Welcome to our village," he said.

Raditz drew himself up to his full height, making sure to hover as menacingly as possible over this human. "I'm looking for someone, a young human named Yamcha. He lives here."

The boy's grin faltered. "That's me," he said. "I'm Yamcha."

* * *

Sitting in the Ox-King's palace with the king himself and his new recruit, Raditz could see why Master Roshi had thought Yamcha might have a little Saiyan in him – he was tall, coming up to Raditz's shoulder, with tanned skin and thick, black, shoulder-length hair that was only slightly more tamed than the average Saiyan. If it weren't for the obvious lack of a tail, you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Well, the tail and the squeamishness. "I don't want to work for Frieza," Yamcha was saying. "I've heard terrible things about the Galactic Army. They're brutal! And they say Saiyans are basically just mediocre fighters compared to some of the other species they've got out there. I wouldn't stand a chance!"

"We are not mediocre," Raditz scowled. "We are some of the best warriors in the galaxy. Frieza's lucky to have us. And with a little training, you'll be just fine."

Yamcha squirmed in his seat. "I don't know. I still don't like the idea of just going to space to fight people for no reason. It doesn't seem right."

The Ox-King nodded, and Raditz felt himself lean away from the giant. He'd heard about the Ox-King, a man bigger than a house with fists the size of a man's head. He'd assumed that these were just the exaggerations of bored villagers with nothing to do but gossip. They were not.

"I need Yamcha here," the Ox-King said. He runs all my errands for me, and he does all the paperwork. And he takes care of Chi-Chi!"

"Who?"

"My daughter, Chi-Chi! Her mother died when she was just a baby, and Yamcha's been helping me take care of her ever since. She'd be devastated if he ever left."

The image of a giant girl with thighs the size of tree trunks and horns coming out above pigtails filled Raditz head, and he shuddered. The last thing he wanted to do was get bogged down in all these little details. "Listen, I didn't want to bring this up first thing, but I have orders from Prince Vegeta himself." He pulled out the device and held it up for Yamcha to look at, then stood up abruptly. "Consider this your official recruitment notice. You'll meet me in Arkisbe tomorrow at noon for your first test. That's an order."

Yamcha's face paled, and he turned to the Ox-King as if for help, but the large man only shook his head sadly. "I'm at the service of Prince Vegeta," he said quietly.

"We all are," Raditz replied. "Before I leave, I need to know who else you can recommend to this mission."

"What?" Yamcha's eyes widened in panic. "I don't – I can't recommend anyone for something like this. I don't even want to go!"

In one movement, Raditz was hovering over him with all the intimidation his tall frame could hold. "Listen," he said through gritted teeth, "I don't want to give you a hard time, but you need to not give me a hard time, understand?"

Yamcha gulped and nodded, leaning back as far as he could manage. "Um," he swallowed heavily. "There's this one guy…"

"Yes?"

"His name is Tienshinhan. He lives further south, closer to the City. Shar-Kali? Yeah, that's it."

Raditz huffed – Shar-Kali was a bigger town than Ter-Kader, and it would be harder to find one person there, not to mention that it was a solid three-hour flight away. "Are you absolutely sure about this? You know this man's a good fighter?"

Yamcha nodded. "I met him in an underground martial arts tournament there, and we fought against each other a few times."

"And?"

"He's the only guy who's ever beaten me."

Shar-Kali it was then.

 **A/N: I can't believe how long it took me to finish this chapter, but thank you all for your patience and your continued interest in my story. At this point, I'm wondering if I should limit the exposition and family relationships in favor of the actual plot, because a lot of stuff still has to happen before Goku can become the warrior we know him to be. Let me know how you feel in the reviews! And for those of you celebrating, have a happy Eid!**


	14. Three's a Squad

Shar-Kali was Arkisbe's hot, sweaty cousin. It was a town of about 15,000 people built around a rapidly-shrinking oasis in the middle of the desert, it's growth sustained by a complicated irrigation system that distributed water from a river that made its way down from a nearby mountain.

Although perhaps "town" was too generous a term. It was more like a series of villages connected by a complex system of paved roads and shared markets and factories. As with Arkisbe, work was limited to what the humans and Saiyans could make themselves – textiles, furniture, construction, and so on. But unlike Arkisbe, where everyone was pretty much in the same financial boat, in Shar-Kali there was an obvious and steep difference between the lifestyles of the Saiyans and the humans.

The Saiyan "village," supported as it was by a stream of money coming in from off-planet warriors, boasted clean roads and large houses, it's people better dressed and better fed. The human side was a stark contrast – dirt roads, small, rundown homes, patches of sickly-looking vegetable gardens, a sure sign of families struggling to provide for themselves (and a personal affront to Raditz, whose dormant inner farmer instinctively turned up his nose at anything but the most well-manicured lawns).

It was here the Raditz found himself, after nearly 20 minutes of wandering aimlessly around the Saiyan side of town asking for directions. He was annoyed and hungry; it was almost noon and all he could think about was his next meal.

 _That Tienshinhan guy had better measure up,_ he thought, _or Yamcha's gonna get it._

A woman he'd stopped in the road pointed him in the direction of a rock quarry from which the workers were coming down for lunch, and sure enough he found a large gathering of men making their way into the town.

"Hey!" he yelled out, positioning himself very firmly in their path, legs spread and hands on hips.

The men froze, a combination of confusion and dread on their faces. Several took a step back and a few hunched their shoulders, as if hoping that they could make themselves disappear.

"I'm looking for Tienshinhan," Raditz announced, eyes scanning the group. "Is he here?"

A tall, broad-shouldered young man pushed his way forward. Raditz had noticed him: he was one of the few who didn't seem frightened or worried by him. He stood tall, matching Raditz's stance, his shirt flung over one shoulder. He was completely bald, and Raditz had to smile to himself as he remembered what Master Roshi had said about dedicated martial artists. This must be a good sign.

"I'm Tien. What do you want?"

"Come with me." Raditz made to move to the side of the road, but Tien wasn't following him. "Come on," he called back. "It's fine, I won't eat you."

Scowling, Tien followed him. It was strange, the way all three of his eyes seemed to squint when he frowned, but Raditz didn't pay much attention to it. "Three-eyes" were not common, but Tien wasn't the first one he'd seen.

"What is it?" Tien demanded.

Raditz pulled out his executive order. Clearly there would be no chit-chat with this guy. "I'm recruiting you for a special mission for Prince Vegeta."

All three of Tien's eyes widened in shock. "M-Me?" he stammered. "Me? Wha-why? How…"

"Your friend Yamcha recommended you to me."

"Yamcha!" The shock on Tien's face was immediately replaced by mistrust. "What does Yamcha have to do with this?"

"He's been recruited too."

"To do what, exactly?"

Raditz huffed. "To join a new squad in Frieza's army on behalf of Vegeta. Now if you're done asking questions…"

"No I'm not," Tien snapped. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'm definitely not fighting for some overlord I've never even seen before."

"I don't think you understand," Raditz smirked. "This is a direct order from Prince Vegeta."

"I don't care, I'm not going!"

Raditz's smirk became a frown. Damn it, why did he have to get this attitude just as he was starting to plan for lunch? At this rate it'd be going on dinnertime before he got anything to eat! "I can make you, you know," he said wearily.

Tien crouched into a defensive stance defiantly. "Let's see you try."

* * *

Bardock's eyes blinked open. The stone pattern on the wall across from him came into focus slowly and he rolled over onto his back, his fists clenching around the thin blanket on top of him. He turned his head to the side to look at his wife. Gine was on her back fast asleep, her arms splayed out across the blanket. For a little thing she took up a ridiculous amount of space.

They had had an unusually bad night after she'd chased him into the room.

"What _in the hell_ was that?!"

Bardock had slumped onto the bed and shut his eyes. "Just, shut up G, okay?"

"Shut up? What's gotten into you?" Gine demanded. "You could have really hurt him!"

"You don't understand…"

"What? What could possibly make you do something like this?"

"You-," Bardock was up and in her face in one movement. "You just – ugh, G!" He clenched his fists over and over, eyes roaming the room as he searched for words.

Gine took a deep breath and reached out to press her palms against his shoulders. "What, Bardock? What is it?"

"He was going to go after the Lady. I saved him a public beating, and what do I get? He starts getting into it with me. Like he always does! G-," Bardock paused and shut his eyes again, breathing deeply through his nose. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard, but G, he has to learn that he can't just say whatever the hell he wants to anyone who comes his way, or else one of these days he's gonna mouth off to someone who's not gonna care how hard they hit him."

And now Bardock was sitting up in bed, dreading having to face his son over breakfast – not because he'd hit him, although he did genuinely regret that, but because he doubted that the lesson he'd tried to teach him had stuck.

He got up and found himself wandering into his sons' bedroom. Kakarot and Kaela were both fast asleep, Raditz unaccountably missing, he noticed.

He leaned over his sleeping son. Kakarot slept like his mother, arms and legs everywhere. The bruise was gone, the mark on his cheek faded almost entirely. It would be gone by tomorrow, if Bardock was any judge. That, at least, was one thing he wouldn't have to worry about.

* * *

Very deliberately, Raditz pressed his foot firmly into the bleeding wound in Tien's side.

"Aaaahhh!"

"You know I could just kill you here," Raditz said, "and no one would care. But I came all this way and missed lunch, and if I kill you now I'd have to find someone else to replace you, and I really don't want to have to do that. So," he pushed his foot in a little harder, eliciting another agonized scream from Tien, "I'm gonna let you go now, and you're gonna clean yourself up and meet me in Arkisbe tomorrow at noon. Otherwise, I'm gonna come back here and poke out that third eye of yours. Got it?" He gave the wound one last kick before removing his foot from the battered body.

Tien moaned pitifully, rolling over onto his stomach and spitting out a wad of blood. It had been a long, long time since he'd taken such a beating. In the world of underground martial arts, Tienshinhan was a legend, an undefeated master. Here and now, he was just another human in a world held in the firm fists of the Saiyans.

"Are you going to live?" Raditz asked as Tien continued to pant desperately on the ground.

"Go away!" Tien yelled. With a mighty effort, he lifted himself from the dirt. His knees buckled with pain but he stayed standing, turning slowly to face Raditz. "You got what you wanted," he spat. "I'll be there. Now get out of here!"

Raditz gave him a skeptical look and crossed his arms. "Alright," he said as he began to levitate into the air, "just try not to bleed out."

It was strange that Tien had been so resistant, Raditz thought as he made his way home. He certainly hadn't been expecting that – how could anyone refuse a direct order from the prince himself? _Why_ would anyone refuse a direct order? It was so nonsensical – he had put up a decent fight, but there had never been any doubt that Raditz had him outmatched.

That was another worrying thing. Tien was clearly an experienced fighter, but he was nowhere near Raditz's level of strength, and Raditz was pretty average for a Saiyan his age. There were certainly a lot of fighters much weaker than the Saiyans in Frieza's army, but there were also many who were much, much stronger. Would humans be able to survive the army?

This could be a problem, especially since he wasn't done for the day.

By the time Raditz got home it was well into the afternoon and no one was home. His mother, of course, was at work, and Kakarot, Kaela, and his father must have gone out training. The kitchen still bore signs of their daily lunchtime raid, and Raditz was forced to make do with what was left.

Although, he considered as he bit into a turkey leg, there was food at the bar…

He paused mid-bite. If having an amnesiac brother had taught him anything, it was that there were some things that you had to approach carefully. And if this morning's altercation had taught him anything, it was that _this_ was one of those things.

It was not a trait that came naturally to Raditz. He was inherently like his father, blunt and brash, the kind of guy who shot first and then thought about what questions to ask later. In Vegetan society, that was what worked. You went in hard and intimidated people with your status and your strength.

It worked with everyone except Kakarot. The harder you pushed with him, the harder he pushed back, and no amount of threats or beatings or "listen to your elders!" made any difference. You could spend hours and days and years fighting him, or you could play nice. Sweet talk would get you everywhere with Kakarot, and Raditz had discovered that it could do you a lot of good with other people too.

Thirty minutes found him at the bar. It was just starting to get busy, but even if it had been packed, there was no way anyone could miss the giant red-haired man carefully cleaning mugs behind the bar.

Yes, Raditz thought, you could always rely on Launch's sense of injustice to lead you to the right place.

"Jasper, right?" Raditz gave him his friendliest smile as he sat on a stool.

"That is correct," the man replied in that strange monotone of his. "What would you like?"

"Get me a beer." Jasper passed him a cold mug, and Raditz took a large sip. "I've heard good things about you."

Jasper's pale blue eyes widened slightly. "What have you heard?" he asked. There was just a hint of curiosity in his voice, the most emotion Raditz had heard in it so far.

"That you're a hard worker. My brother Kakarot's worked with you on the farms."

"Kakarot," Jasper replied. "That is the Saiyan boy they call Goku?"

Raditz resisted the urge to snap at him and nodded.

"You must be very proud of him. He is a strong boy and very pleasant to work with," Jasper said, as if reciting from a prepared manuscript.

"Thanks," Raditz grinned. "I saw you got some kids that aren't quite as nice."

"They are good kids," Jasper insisted. "But they are mischievous."

"They're your siblings?"

There was an inordinately long pause before Jasper finally nodded.

"Kids are expensive," Raditz commented. "I had a friend who worked this job before you. She didn't make a whole lot."

"It is enough."

Raditz pulled out the prince's order and slid it across the bar to Jasper. "I'm gonna make you an offer. Prince Vegeta is looking for human fighters to join our contingent in Frieza's army, and anyone with a brain can see you're a fighter. You join up, you make a lot more money for those kids."

Jasper paused. "Why does Prince Vegeta need human fighters?"

Raditz shrugged. "I'm just following orders. You should too."

"I cannot leave the children."

"Send them back to your family."

"We have no family. I take care of the children."

Raditz was losing patience. "Then find someone to take them in."

"There is no one."

"Look, I don't wanna have to make you do this," Raditz said. "But I can. For one thing, this is an official order from the prince himself. And those scars you got don't look like farming injuries. I would know." He sat back on the barstool and gave Jasper his most authoritative glare – he was having to use it more and more these days. "So you do what I'm telling you, and I don't ask a lot of awkward questions. Deal?"

There was a long silence. Then, "There is no one to take care of the children."

Raditz slid off the stool. "That sounds like your problem. I'm having a squad training session tomorrow at noon. Don't make me come get you."


	15. Visits

"Hey! This is a surprise! Come on in."

Bardock gave his childhood friend a small smile as he entered the home.

"I wasn't expecting to see you this soon. We've still got a couple weeks left," Toma said.

"Yeah," Bardock conceded as the two sat down. "It's just...," he sighed heavily and trailed off.

Toma grinned. "What's Kakarot gotten into this time?"

So Bardock told him the whole story. When he was done, Toma scratched his head contemplatively and said, "Well, you definitely overreacted, but I don't blame ya. They're a handful at that age, but he was fine this morning, right? So all's well that ends well, is what I say."

Bardock shook his head. "This isn't about his age, Toh. Believe me, I was _hoping_ this was just a stage, that he'd eventually grow up and start to understand how to behave, but...," here he paused and gave his friend a pointed look.

"Ah," Toma said knowingly, "this is about old Master Gohan again." He'd grown up with Bardock in Ter-Kader, and he'd known the old human since he was a child. He was very familiar with the rumors surrounding Gohan's isolation, and Bardock's own beliefs about the time he'd spent with his son.

Bardock threw his hands up in frustration. "Well, how else do you explain it?!"

Toma shrugged. "Well he definitely does magic. Stands to reason, otherwise he'd be dead by now. But you know I never understood why you think he'd put a spell on your kid, of all the people on the planet. It's not even that good a spell. I mean, if you could put a spell on someone, wouldn't you make it so they had horns and looked real ugly or something?"

"No," Bardock said firmly. "I'd use it to make him weak. Which is exactly what that Gohan did to my kid! Made him weak in the head."

"Aw, come on. Why would he do that? He's just some lonely old man. And why would he put a spell on some random baby he found in a ravine? Doesn't make sense."

Bardock considered this. In truth, he wasn't completely convinced that Master Gohan _had_ actually put a spell on Kakarot. He went back and forth – some days he'd stake his life on it, and some days he, like Toma, couldn't imagine what reason the old man could have to hurt anyone.

But if it wasn't Gohan, then what could possibly explain Kakarot's behavior? Bardock just could not believe that a hit on the head could change a person so much. Take him: he'd been hit on the head more times than a man could count. Heck, if it was about the coma, Bardock had landed in a coma on his third off-planet mission. He'd been out for a week, and he'd woken up exactly the same as he'd been when he was knocked out.

Toma leaned forward. "If you're really worried that someone hurt your kid, there's a way we can find out."

"How?"

"There's a woman I've heard of. They say she has powers –"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Bardock scowled. "I'm not getting _another_ magician involved with my kid."

"It's not magic!" Toma protested. "It's like, spiritual powers, you know? She can see the future!"

Bardock rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're actually saying this."

"Oh, so when you believe in magic it's a problem, but when I believe in spirits it's ridiculous?"

This had long been a contentious issue between them. Toma had always been a traditionalist, hanging onto the old ways, the old beliefs. Bardock, on the other hand, was a skeptic.

"I don't know about this Toma. I don't wanna make things worse than they already are."

"C'mon! I've heard things about her, Bar. They say she's can know all about your past and your future just by lookin' at ya! They say," and here he lowered his voice to a near whisper, "she cured people from _the sickness."_

At this Bardock's face cleared. Here, _here_ was something to change the mind of even the most rigid skeptic.

"Whaddya got to lose anyways?"

And there was that, too.

That was how Bardock and Toma ended up in the middle of the desert two hours later. Against all reason, here was where this magical woman lived, in a palatial complex at the foot of a lake, surrounded by palm trees.

"What is this place?" Bardock hissed as the two approached the entrance. Before Toma had the chance to respond, they were accosted by what could only be described as a floating blob in a sunhat.

"Hello!" it greeted in a squeaky voice as Bardock practically jumped out of its way. "Welcome to the palace of Fortuneteller Baba!"

Bardock gave it a weak grin. Meanwhile, Toma was having the time of his life. "Hi! Can we see her?"

"Of course!" the thing responded. "Please come in. After me!"

The followed down the path and into the unexpectedly gloomy palace. The dark stonework, Bardock noted, was particularly foreboding, consisting as it was of demonic faces, horned and deformed.

It had been a long, long time since Bardock had felt fear, but this place was making his skin crawl.

They were led into an intricate, if still depressing, sitting room and told to wait.

"What in the hells is this place?"

"Isn't it great!" Toma practically squealed. "You can practically feel the spirits in the room."

"I should have never listened to you."

"I present to you" – the squeaky blob's voice bounced off the stone walls – "Fortuneteller Baba!"

At this, a door burst open and shadowy figure floated in from the darkness.

"You're Fortuneteller Baba?!" Toma blurted out.

She certainly wasn't much to look at it. A wrinkly old lady in drab black robes, she slid off the levitating crystal ball she had floated in on. They were sitting down, and she was still barely chest level with the two men.

"Of course I'm Fortuneteller Baba! What did you expect?" the woman snapped.

Bardock couldn't help but smirk at his friend's obvious disappointment. He'd obviously been hoping for someone a little more imposing.

"Now before we get started, I have some ground rules."

"Rules?" Bardock repeated.

"Yes, rules! Is that going to be a problem? Hmm?" She gave him a look that reminded him of his mother, and he shook his head quietly.

"Now, the rules are, I don't do potions. If you're dying I can make you one of my concoctions, but none of this love potion nonsense. I won't tell you when you're going to die, because all I get is complaints afterwards. _'Oh, my life has become unbearable ever since you told me I'm going to die next Tuesday,'_ " she mocked. "Well then, why did you ask?! So no death questions. And payment is upfront."

"Payment?"

"250 zeni."

" _250?!"_ Bardock screeched. "250 zeni so you can make stuff up?!"

"How dare you! I'll have you know there's not a fortuneteller alive who can hold a candle to me! Make stuff up indeed!" Baba wagged her finger aggressively in his face. "People swear by my readings! I've changed lives!"

"Bardock," Toma whispered under his breath, "just pony up the money, okay? We've come this far!"

"I don't have 250 zeni on me! What kind of idiot walks around with that much money?"

"I accept IOU cards," Baba said, her voice suddenly pleasant.

Scowling, Bardock pulled a blank IOU card from his pocket and carefully scrawled in the amount with a pen Baba had conjured out of nowhere. The electronic chip on the card linked back to his account, so that Baba could present it at a local checking station and withdraw the money straight from the account.

"Thank you very much," Baba said, grabbing the card and stuffing it in the folds of her robe. "Now, let's see." She ran a wrinkled hand over the top of her ball, concentrating on the cloudy images within. "Are you going to tell me why you're here?"

"Shouldn't you know? For 250 zeni you oughta be able to tell me my whole life story."

She gave him a disapproving look. A few minutes of silence passed as Baba redirected her attention to the ball. "You're here about a child. You have two, and they both worry you, but this little one, he weighs on you. You fear that he is destined for a short life."

For a second Bardock thought his heart had stopped. He blinked, unsure if he'd imagined what he'd heard, but a quick glance at Toma's face told him that was really happening. "There," he cleared his through, "there's a, um, a man, who I think –,"

"His name is Master Gohan."

"You can see that?"

"I can see many things. You have nothing to fear from him; he has not harmed the child."

"A-Are you sure?"

"100 percent satisfaction or your money back!"

The high-pitched voice snapped Bardock out of his focus – he hadn't even noticed that the floating blob was still in the room. "Okay. That's good. That's -," he took a deep breath.

"I also see," Baba continued, "that the child is, as you believe, different. He has no affliction that I can see, but," here she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "he certainly has a quality that I cannot place."

"What does that mean?"

"It won't kill him, if that's what's bothering you."

"Is that all you can tell me?"

Baba shrugged. "What else did you want to know?"

"How do I fix this, this thing, this _quality_ he has?"

"Nothing is broken, so there is nothing for you to fix."

Bardock stood up suddenly, towering over the woman as if subconsciously trying to intimidate her. "But you just said I was right. There is something wrong with him."

"He is not the child you expected. Perhaps he is no the child you wanted."

"But he's the child I _have,"_ Bardock's voice was rising now, "so what do I do about him?"

 _"There is nothing to be done,"_ Baba replied. "Even I have my limits, you know. I'm not a god or some kind of supernatural power that I can grant you everything your heart desires." She sighed. "Some things are…unclear, in the crystal ball. But what I can say is that there is nothing for you to fear. So go home, my boy. Go home, and be grateful for what you have rather than pine for what you don't."

Bardock stared at her for a long moment, unable to fathom how someone could tear you open the way Baba had done and then leave you without even a bandage to get you back on your feet.

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. Toma smiled at him. "She's right. Come on, let's go home."

As the two men walked away, Baba sighed heavily to herself. Knowledge of the future could be a heavy burden, but at least she wouldn't actually have to live it.

Better keep an eye on this kid, though.

* * *

The house was uncharacteristically quiet when Gine came home. She walked into her room to find Bardock lying on the bed, deep in thought.

"Hey, what's with you?" she said as she joined him on the bed. "Why are you all alone in here? Where's Kakarot and Raditz?"

Bardock shrugged. "I haven't seen Raditz all day. And I told all Kakarot he could spend the day at Master Roshi's. I doubt he'll be back tonight."

"Oh wow. You really do feel bad."

Bardock sighed and rolled over to face his wife, who was sitting cross-legged next to him. She smiled and bent forward, planting a kiss on the tip of his nose and making him laugh in spite of the grim mood he'd been in all day.

"So what did you do all day?" she asked.

"I went to see Toma," Bardock replied.

"Well geez, you're usually a lot happier when you come home from his place."

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm usually a lot drunker too."

Gine laughed. "So then, what's wrong?"

Bardock pushed himself up and put his arm around her, bringing her close, and told her about the day's events, about Fortuneteller Baba's reassurances, such as they were, and, of course, about the 250 zeni.

"So you spent a small fortune for peace of mind, but you're still upset. For goodness' sakes, Bardock," she said as she snuggled into him. "what has to happen so you'll stop worrying about Kakarot? His behavior is strange, I admit, but it's never really been a problem. I mean, everyone here seems awful fond of him, so maybe it's not so serious like we think."

"Everyone here's fond of him because this is his home. They know him. They know _you,_ and they knew your mother back in the day. But he can't live in this village forever."

"I know," she said quietly. "But let's just enjoy this time now, like the fortuneteller said. There's so little of it."

Bardock smiled down at his wife. She was several years younger than him, but she'd always been a lot wiser. "I know, I know. It feels like yesterday Raditz was smaller than Kakarot is now. Remember," he chuckled, "remember when he first started walking, he used to toddle around using his tail for balance?"

Gine giggled. "He was so adorable!"

"And now look at him. Kid's bigger than me. Sometimes I can't even believe he's mine, ya know? My kid's a little guy."

"Yeah, I know." She snuggled in closer, letting her tail come around to wrap around his waist.

They stayed like that for a while until they heard the front door slam shut.

"Hello!" Kakarot's voice called out. "Hey, where are you guys?"

Gine and Bardock exchanged confused looks as their young son bounded through the door.

"Hi!" he said, climbing onto the bed and squeezing himself between his parents, much to Bardock's thinly-veiled annoyance.

"I wasn't expecting to see you today," Bardock said. "I assumed you'd spend the night with Krillin."

"Well I was gonna," Kakarot replied, his face clouding over suddenly. "But Master Roshi said how come I was stayin' over when you were home, so I told him about our fight. And he said I oughta listen to you and do what you say." He frowned a little, then continued, "He said I was real naughty and that I have to go home and say sorry."

There was silence.

" _Well?"_

"I'm not sorry about wanting to stand up for Jasper, but I guess I shouldn't have yelled at you," Kakarot conceded. "So I'm sorry about that."

Bardock let out a deep sigh of relief. It was the best and most sincere apology he'd ever gotten from his youngest son, even if it did come with a caveat. Perhaps Master Roshi was doing a good job not just with training, but with discipline too.

"Everyone thinks I was wrong," Kakarot pouted. "Raditz and Master Roshi, even Launch says I'm being bad."

"Well, if _Launch_ thinks you've been bad!" Bardock exclaimed mockingly, rolling his eyes.

"Oh hey! Launch gave me rice cakes for you guys," Kakarot said, pulling out a brown packet from his shirt.

"Ooh!" Gine grabbed the packet and immediately stuffed one into her mouth, only to have her whole face contort in a deep pucker. "Oh gods," she groaned. "Oh, it's so sour."

"Sour?" Bardock laughed.

Gine nodded, then practically ran for the bathroom as Kakarot laughed at the expression on her face.

"Yeah," he giggled. "Launch isn't a very good cook."

"Hey, what's going on in here?" In the commotion, no one had heard Raditz come in.

"Where've you been all day?" Bardock demanded as his older son sat on the edge of the bed and started to poke at his younger brother, eliciting giggles from the child.

"I, uh," Raditz gave his father an uncertain look, "I was recruiting. For my squad."

"Oh, how exciting!" Gine had come in and joined the boys on the bed again.

"Yeah," he grinned back at her, forgetting for a moment all that he'd had to go through to get just three fighters. "I'm training them tomorrow."

Kakarot bounced up onto his feet. "Can I come?"

"I don't know…"

"Please?" Kakarot was jumping up and down on the bed now. "Come on Raditz, I just wanna watch."

It was just too hard to say no to those wide, pleading eyes. "Fine, you can come."

"Alright!"

"But you have to behave."

This notice didn't seem to register with Kakarot, who was jumping even more excitedly in anticipation of a new training exercise.

Bardock smirked at his older son, who was already displaying signs of regret. He was in for a long day.


	16. Trip to the City

Amara flipped back, landing perfectly, one foot elegantly placed in front of the other, her sword out and flaming with the strength of her _ki._ With a flourish, she dissipated the sword and took a bow, one eye glancing up curiously.

"How was that?" Tonsa turned to her queen eagerly, eyes searching for any sign of approval on the royal visage.

Queen Selardi's face gave nothing away.

It was a beautiful face. Large, almond-shaped eyes with charcoal irises were framed by long lashes, set in a perfectly heart-shaped face. Her olive skin was clear and smooth, despite the fact that she was nearing 70. Her nose curved ever so slightly as it came to a round tip, and her lips, too, curved softly around a defined cupid's bow.

A beautiful face, but an impassive one.

Silence reverberated through the large white room. Marble, all of it, shining so brightly you could almost see your reflection. The idea, of course, was to give the illusion of light, but sometimes Amara felt it only made the absence of it more acute.

All of Hotsu – all of it that mattered, anyway – was encased in a marble box. A beautiful box, but a box nonetheless. The Hotsus lived, worked, and played in the box. They grew food and raised animals, mostly small pets, in the box. They studied, experimented, and developed in the box. There was no other choice.

Outside, the planet was barren. Underneath its crust, noxious gas and magma boiled, occasionally breaking through the surface as the pressure forced the planet to expand. Nothing could grow here, nothing could live – and no one had lived outside for nearly 300 years. One day soon, the gas would completely obliterate the crust, turning the solid ground of Hotsu into a gas giant. Not even their carefully crafted artificial environment could survive that.

Queen Selardi tilted head ever so slightly forward in approval, the thick black curls that cascaded down her back swaying with her movement. "It's certainly an improvement," Selardi said. She motioned to Amara, who stood up and approached her. Selardi bent forward and stiffly patted the hair that was so much like her own. "Very good."

Amara smiled hugely. It wasn't often that she sat with the queen, and her approval set off butterflies in her stomach.

Selardi had that effect on people.

"You'll return to guard training while you're here," she added, and Amarah nodded.

Amara had trained with the Hotsu Elite Guard Force before being handed over to Frieza, and their techniques differed vastly from those used by Frieza's soldiers. Without frequent brush-ups she would get rusty, and that simply would not do.

After Amara was dismissed to her own quarters, Tonsa, who had visibly relaxed by now, gave the queen a detailed report about the time they had spent on Frieza's ship. It had only been a few months, but Tonsa had requested an expedited vacation for them on the basis that with Vegeta and Nappa on vacation, there was little available in the way of training for the young princess.

In reality, Tonsa had been dying to get off the ship from the moment she'd set foot in it, and the Saiyans' absence was just the excuse she needed for an escape. The Hotsus were an isolationist race and that had caused them to feel superior to the other species in the galaxy. Tonsa instinctively looked down on the likes of Zarbon and Dodoria, even when it was obvious that they possessed skills and talents she lacked. Being the low man on the totem pole in Frieza's ship when she quite earnestly believed that she was by nature superior to most every race present was a situation she found intolerable.

"Hmm," Queen Selardi tapped her long fingers against her armchair. "Interesting. I have heard of the Lacertans – they're an old civilization. We may have had a trade agreement with them a few centuries back. I'll have someone check the archives. But Saiyans, that's a new one."

"Well, like I said, their strength is impressive, but it's not much compared to some of the elite warriors Frieza has," Tonsa said. "And their prince has no sense of diplomacy. He makes no effort to become close to Frieza, even though from what Zarbon told me, he has a particular affinity for him."

Selardi nodded.

"And," Tonsa continued, "they have tails."

"Tails?!" That caught Selardi's attention, and she gave a hearty laugh. "What in the world…"

"Furry tails, like a dog or a monkey," Tonsa started to giggle too. "I can only imagine how much hair they have on their bodies!"

"Well," Selardi grinned, "perhaps you ought to find out."

Tonsa shuddered. "It's bad enough our quarters are next to theirs. I can't stand Zarbon, but at least he has grace."

Selardi nodded in understanding. Tonsa was already making a huge sacrifice on behalf of their people – Selardi wouldn't push her more than was needed.

She reached out a hand to the woman. "Thank you Tonsa. You have done well so far. You'll give a full report to the court tonight, but perhaps there's no need for you to go into the details of your strategy with the Lacertan." She gave her a pointed look, and Tonsa nodded solemnly. "And while you're here, you might as well rejoin guard trading with Amara."

"Of course." They discussed a few more points related to the court meeting, and then Tonsa was dismissed, leaving the queen in her alabaster throne room to contemplate the consequences of this first stage of their reintegration with the galaxy.

"Tails," she said quietly to the empty room. "The things that evolve in the universe when you're not paying attention. So…organic."

* * *

Two weeks saw Raditz on the outskirts of Arkisbe with his crew, if you could call it that. They'd been training relentlessly every day, and in a few hours he'd be presenting them to Nappa and Prince Vegeta.

He watched them stretch as they prepared to fly off. Yamcha was a friendly type, not really what Raditz would consider "warrior material." He knew Krillin from his days with Master Roshi and quickly hit it off with the Kakarot and Kaela. He'd made friends with Jasper too, who was still as stoic and mechanical as ever. After he'd brought up the plight of his siblings several times over lunch (which Raditz very pointedly ignored), Yamcha had offered the Ox King's place for the kids to stay.

"The children are very…active," Jasper had said. "Are you sure that your uncle will not mind taking care of them?"

"Sure! It's no problem. Heck, he'll need the extra help around the place with me gone."

Tienshinhan continued to be as sullen as ever. Training had not done much good for his relationship with Yamcha; if anything, the two seemed to hate each other more with each passing day. But as far as Raditz could tell, Tien was the one with the problem. He didn't get along with anyone, including the three children who often came to train with them. Raditz wasn't sure that Tien could be trusted. You had to be able to at least tolerate the other members of your crew, otherwise how could you be trusted to have their back? Honor was a great thing, but you couldn't always count on it in the moment of truth.

"Alright," Raditz said. "I don't know what Prince Vegeta has set up for you, but the important thing is you stand your ground." He paused, not sure if he should say something more encouraging. He wasn't normally on this side of the pep talk.

"Um," Yamcha swallowed nervously, "um, are we gonna get shipped off into space right after?"

Raditz shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not. You'll still need to get uniforms, scouters, IDs."

Jasper placed a comforting, if rather heavy, hand on Yamcha's shoulders. "We must focus on the task at hand first."

"Exactly. Now, let's move out."

With that, the four men levitated into the air and sped south towards Kingdom Center.

* * *

"It's not fair," Goku pouted. He was sitting slumped in the sand on Kame Island with Krillin and Kaela. The three of them had gotten a "day off" from training and were spending it playing on the beach. But Goku was frustrated, and he was bringing them all down. "Raditz promised he would take me to the city with him and he didn't!"

"Cheer up, Goku," Krillin patted his friend on the back. "This is fun too, right?"

Goku frowned. "But I really wanted to go. And he promised."

"So why don't we just go without him?" Kaela suggested.

The two boys stared at her. "How would we get there?" Krillin asked. "We don't even know where the city is."

"It's south, right? That way," she said, pointing. "We just fly in that direction."

"Hey, yeah!" Goku said, his grin widening with realization. "She's right, we can do that, it's easy."

Krillin shook his head. "No, no, no. The city is _hours_ away. We can't fly that long."

Goku and Kaela exchanged disappointed looks. A few hours flight was nothing for adults like Raditz and Yamcha, but Goku and Kaela could only manage a couple hours at a time, max. Krillin would probably fizzle out even sooner than that.

Suddenly, Kaela brightened. "I have an idea!" She ran up to Master Roshi's boat, which was docked nearby. "This thing flies, right?"

"Uhhh…," Krillin felt his stomach sink. "Yeah, but…,"

"And you can fly it?"

"Um…"

"Hey, that's a great idea Kaela!" Goku cheered. "Come on, Krillin, it'll be great!"

"Oh, Master Roshi's not gonna like this," Krillin moaned.

"Why not?" Goku asked.

"Don't be such a big baby, Krillin. We're just borrowing it for a little bit," Kaela glared at him. "We'll be right back."

Krillin glared right back at her. This was obviously untrue, but he was clearly outnumbered. And it _would_ be kinda cool to see the city. "Oh, alright! But we'd better not get in trouble for this."

Soon the three children were flying high in the air in the comfort of Roshi's hovercraft, with Krillin at the wheel. Goku was having the time of his life, his face plastered against the window, wide-eyed and laughing. The only place he'd ever been to outside of Arkisbe was Ter-Kader, so he had no idea that his home planet was so big and so full of life. Stretches of desert were pockmarked with oases, then gave way to villages and towns, farms and forests, only to return to desert again. Red and purple mountains towered above them even as they brushed the clouds. Rivers carved their way through the rock, feeding thirsty valleys down below.

Imagine, Goku thought, all those people down there. What were they like, he wondered? He felt an urge to go down there, meet them, talk to them, fight them – friendly-like, just to test his own strength.

He sighed. One day, perhaps, he would travel the world. He would meet all kinds of interesting people and learn new things. But today, today he was going to the city. His smile broadened at the thought. He knew that today would be an important day, a day he would remember forever. He just knew it.

It was a little past noon when they arrived at their destination. The children descended, leaving their hovercraft in a designated parking spot, and made their way through the city on foot.

The three were utterly awestruck. Never had they seen this many people in one place. Instinctively they held hands, at once excited and scared by the jostling crowds.

It was easy to find the royal palace. The domed building towered above everything in sight, a testament to the glory and might of the House of Vegeta. Walled off from the rest of the city, it extended down towards the beach and across the city, a series of buildings connected by tunnels and passageways.

"Look at it!" Goku's eyes widened with wonder. "It's huge! And so beautiful…"

Krillin gulped. While Goku was staring at the domes, he was looking at the burly guard at the main entrance. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, guys. We should just go home."

"But we came all this way!" Kaela protested.

It didn't matter anyway – Goku wasn't listening to them. He was already at the entrance, and the two ran to catch up with him.

Not surprisingly, they were stopped.

"Just where do you kids think you're going?" the Saiyan guard glared at them.

"We wanna see inside," Goku said, unfazed by the guard's giant frame and obvious disapproval.

He snorted. "What do think this is, some kinda tourist attraction? Get outta here, all of you!"

"But my brother's in there!" Goku insisted.

"Yeah right, so's my cousin."

"Well hey, you can come with us to see him."

"Wha-you making fun of me, kid? You three better leave before I really lose my temper," the guard snapped. "Go on, get out of here!"

They scampered.

"Well, now what?" Krillin said. They were wandering around the perimeter of the castle walls, unsure of what to do next. Even Goku could see that trying to fight the guard was a bad idea, and other than that, they were out of options.

He slumped onto the sidewalk. "I'm hungry."

"Me too," Kaela clutched at her stomach and sat next to her cousin. "I'm not doing anything until we get some lunch."

Krillin frowned. This whole excursion was their idea, and now that they were tapped out he was forced to pick up the slack.

He looked around, unsure of what to do next. Then…

"Hey guys, look! There's a food stand right over there!" he pointed excitedly. The two Saiyans jumped up, and the three together ran towards their salvation.

"Three sweet rolls please," Krillin panted.

"12 zeni," the man said.

"12 ZENI!" Krillin shrieked. "I only have six!"

The man shrugged. "Sorry kid."

"Hey!" Kaela yelled, trying to climb into the stand. "That's four zeni each! That's too much for sweet rolls! You're cheating us!"

"That's what it costs, girl," the man shoved her off. "Take it or leave it."

"Don't you push me!" Kaela was climbing back over the stand, determined to exact vengeance upon this cheating thief.

"I'll pay for it," an unfamiliar voice said.

The children looked up to find a teenaged human girl with short blue hair smiling down at them. "In fact, make it two each," she told the stall owner.

"That's awful nice of you," Goku said.

"Yeah," Krillin said. "Thanks a lot!"

"Don't sweat it," she grinned, handing them their share of the rolls. "So, what's your names?"

"I'm Krillin, and these are my friends, Goku and Kaela. What's yours?"

"I'm Bulma. Bulma Briefs."


	17. Finding Raditz

"So what brings kids like you into the city?

Krillin, Kaela, and Goku were walking along with Bulma, who strode confidently through the city's crowds.

"We're looking for Goku's brother," Krillin said. "He's real important, he works for Prince Vegeta himself!"

Bulma laughed. "He does, huh?"

Goku nodded. "We tried to get into the palace to see him, but the guard wouldn't let us in."

Bulma stopped and considered the three for a moment. "Are you telling the truth?"

They nodded.

"You're absolutely sure your brother works for Prince Vegeta?"

More nods. "I don't tell lies," Goku said.

"Yeah," Krillin agreed. "We're martial artists, and a martial artist can't tell lies."

"Well then," Bulma grinned mischievously, "you're in luck. It just so happens that I am one of the very few people on the planet allowed into the royal palace. In fact, that's where I was going when I saw you guys."

The boys jumped up in excitement, but Kaela crossed her arms in suspicion. "How do we know that _you're_ telling the truth?"

"I'll prove it to you," Bulma said.

She led them back towards the palace, but instead of approaching the guard, she turned and walked along the palace wall.

"How come we're not going to the entrance?" Krillin asked.

"The entrance is for guests," Bulma said. "It's mostly just for show. People who actually work for the royal family don't enter that way."

She stopped and knocked on the wall.

They stared, wide-eyed and waiting.

Suddenly, a clear screen appeared. Bulma put her palm against it. It beeped, and the wall opened up as if it were sliding door to let them in.

Kaela gasped. She was telling the truth after all!

The trio followed Bulma through the wall towards a side door that had been invisible from the outside. Here again, Bulma placed her palm on a screen at the center of the door, and it immediately slid open.

Goku practically ran in after her. He couldn't believe their luck, to run into this girl just when it seemed like their trip was ending. And now he was actually inside the royal palace! How exciting!

Kaela and Krillin too were gazing around them in wonder. They were in what was obviously a side corridor, but it was still impressive to the three villagers. Tiled floors, which they'd never seen before, and walls made of purple and blue brick, a rare commodity.

They followed Bulma, awestruck, through another door and down a flight of stairs into…

"Welcome to the lab!" she said triumphantly.

"Lab?" Krillin asked, confused. It certainly looked busy. Humans were running around the wide, machine-filled room in every direction, carrying papers and folders and looking very important indeed.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" she said with obvious relish. "My father is Dr. Briefs."

The children exchanged empty glances.

"You know, Dr. Briefs!" Bulma stomped her foot. "He's only the most famous scientist who ever lived!"

That caught Kaela's attention. "Scientist?" she piped up. She'd been spending a lot of time with Dr. Toriyashi, and her curiosity was piqued. "Like an inventor?"

"He's not just any old inventor," Bulma said. "He's the brains behind every major scientific and technological breakthrough in the last two decades."

Goku turned to Krillin. "What does that mean?" he whispered. Krillin shrugged.

Just then, the man himself appeared from behind a large whirring machine. "Hello my dear. I didn't know you were coming today."

"Daddy! I told you I'd be here!" Bulma seethed.

"Oh, did you? Goodness, I completely forgot. But I see you've brought some little friends," he turned his attention to the three children. "Hello there."

"Are you really a famous inventor?" Kaela asked.

"Oh, well," Dr. Briefs said modestly, "I like to think that I can put together a few things. After all, I do run this place."

"I wanna see!" Kaela exclaimed, reaching her arm out as though expecting to be picked up. That, or she was trying to grab the doctor's mustache.

He leaned forward to examine her more closely. "You're a Saiyan, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I like to build things too."

"Well, that's wonderful!" Dr. Briefs patted her on the head genially. "I've always said we should get a few Saiyans down here."

"Have you seen my brother Raditz?" Goku interrupted.

"Raditz?" Dr. Briefs repeated.

"He's real big and tall, and he has lots and lots of hair."

"Raditz?"

"Long, long hair."

"You'd know him if you saw him," Krillin interjected.

"Well, I've been down here all day, so I certainly haven't seen anyone matching that description. But the name does sound familiar," Dr. Briefs said.

"That's okay, I'm sure we'll find him somewhere," Bulma said. "Let's go look."

The boys turned to follow her out, but Kaela paused. "I think I'll stay here for little while. Just to look."

"Okay," Goku smiled. "See ya later!"

"Raditz. Raditz, Raditz, Raditz," Dr. Briefs muttered as went back to his work, Kaela bouncing along behind him. "Hmm."

* * *

Raditz was in another part of the palace complex, in a large courtyard where Tien, Yamcha, and Jasper were demonstrating their skills to the prince and his guard. The three Saiyans stood to one side as the human fighters took on six Saibamen that the prince had been saving for this occasion. He always appreciated a good fight.

Vegeta had to admit, they were doing much better than he'd imagined they would. Each one had a distinct style that made up for their low power levels. Yamcha was agile, moving swiftly to counter every punch and kick until his opponent began to tire. Then he'd make his move, putting all his energy into a swift knockout punch or energy blast. It was a smart way to conserve what little power he had, Vegeta conceded, but he had one serious flaw: all his moves were designed to incapacitate his opponent, not to kill. That would have to change.

Tien, on the other hand, was a real killer. He too was swift and his technique was flawless, but he was also brutal. Constantly on the offensive, he attacked each Saibaman mercilessly and had no problem blasting them into oblivion. Vegeta approved.

Jasper was something else entirely. He stood completely guarded, allowing the Saibamen to come to him. He knocked each one out of the air with ease, hardly seeming to move at all. It was like watching rabbits fight a mountain.

Nappa leaned towards him. "I like the big guy," he whispered, and Vegeta grinned. Jasper was impressive, certainly, but there was something about him that wasn't quite right. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Raditz, however, was nervous. Sure, they were doing well, but it shouldn't take this long to take out a few Saibamen, even if it was two-on-one. He could hardly breathe, constantly glancing over at Vegeta and Nappa, trying to get a hint of their thoughts from their blank faces.

Finally, after more than two hours of fighting, it was over. All the Saibamen were dead except for the two Yamcha had taken on – they were lying motionless on the ground.

"Well?" Vegeta glared at the young man, who was leaning over and panting heavily.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Finish the job."

"Huh?"

"Those two," Nappa interjected. "Kill 'em. Now."

"B-but…," he stammered.

"You will do as you are ordered!" Raditz barked, his face red with embarrassment. "Do it now!"

Yamcha swallowed hard. This was only the beginning, he knew that. Soon he'd be doing much worse things, if the stories he'd heard about Frieza were even remotely true. And he had no choice but to obey.

Two quick blasts and it was over. Tien smirked at him, and it took all of Yamcha's self-control not to punch him in the face.

* * *

Bulma, Goku, and Krillin were making their way towards Prince Vegeta's quarters. They'd been trying to sense out Raditz, but neither of them had quite perfected the technique yet.

As they ambled along, Bulma told them all kinds of neat stories. She'd actually met Prince Vegeta and had seen the king himself, at a royal party celebrating the accomplishments of her father a year or so ago. She knew General Nappa and General Paragus, the two top generals and the king's closest confidants. It was all very impressive, and the boys listened intently.

Well, Krillin listened. Goku was distracted by the grandeur around him. Tile everywhere, stone carvings in the walls, wood doors with elaborate decorations hewn in. Due to the scarcity of trees in many parts of the planet, wood was a rare and expensive commodity on Vegeta – Goku had only ever seen it used for traditional totem poles used to celebrate holidays. When it was needed for fire, it was carefully conserved.

It was incredible, but it was also…strange, and not in a good way. It seemed rather a waste to Goku to use wood like this when most everyone he knew couldn't afford it for important stuff. And this tile stuff was probably real expensive too. He'd never seen it before and wasn't really sure what it was, but it sure looked nice.

 _They ought to share_ , he thought.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by something very familiar. "Raditz!" he cried suddenly, running ahead of Bulma and Krillin.

"You can sense him?" Krillin asked as he chased after his friend.

"I can smell him!" Goku called back.

Down the hall, faster and faster, past the Prince's quarters, past a door, past another door, and then, sure enough…

"Raditz!" Goku called out, waving ferociously at the people down below. "Raditz, hey!"

"What's that?" Nappa looked around for the source of the disruption. Raditz too was looking around widely, his nerves already frayed from the day's events.

"Krillin?" Yamcha said suddenly, a disbelieving look on his face. He pointed, "Up there, that's Krillin and Goku!"

Everyone looked up.

The two boys were standing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, chubby faces squeezed between the railing as they tried to get their attention.

"We found you!" Goku cheered. He floated down, and Krillin followed suit.

Raditz had never been so embarrassed in all his life. He had a sudden and intense desire for the ground to split at his feet and swallow him whole. Or better yet, split at his brother's feet and swallow _him_ whole.

Goku landed and ran to his brother, face beaming with delight at this triumph.

Raditz was not in the same place, emotionally.

"What in the nine hells are you doing here?" he hissed between gritted teeth. The stupid little kid, look at that smiling face, like this was the most natural thing in the world. No idea, no sense whatsoever-

"What is the meaning of this?" Vegeta yelled, hands on his hips and the most menacing glare Raditz had ever seen on his face.

"I-I'm so sorry, your majesty, I-I…"

"Is that your brother?" Nappa asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the boy.

"Ye-yes, General Nappa."

"Figures." He turned to Vegeta. "Kid's the spitting image of Bardock," he explained.

"Who?"

"Raditz's dad. Who's the bald kid?" he pointed at Krillin, who was cowering behind Yamcha.

"Nobody, general, just a child –"

"He's not nobody, he's Krillin!" Goku protested.

Raditz smacked him over the head. "Shut up!" he seethed.

"HEY!"

Everyone turned.

Bulma had found a staircase and was stomping towards them with clenched fists and an expression on her face that rivalled Vegeta's.

"Oh good," Vegeta snarked. "There's more of them."

"How dare you two just run off like that and leave me behind?! After everything I've done for you!" Bulma yelled.

Nappa coughed loudly, and it was only then that Bulma became aware of her surroundings. She bowed to Vegeta. "I apologize for the intrusion, your highness. I was leading these two very naughty" – she shot them a dirty look – "boys and they ran away from me."

"And who are you?"

Bulma stood back up, clearly insulted. "I'm Bulma Briefs! You've met me!"

Vegeta looked her up and down. "Have I? I don't recall."

Nappa leaned down and whispered something into his ear while Bulma's face reddened with indignation.

Vegeta waved a hand dismissively. "I've had enough of this. Did you tell these two," he turned to Raditz, "to come here?"

"No! No, of course not, I would never-"

"Alright, enough." He approached Goku, who was looking a little confused but still cheerful. Vegeta frowned a little as he knelt to speak to the child. For his age, he seemed to have no appreciate for the situation he was. He hadn't even offered a bow. "How," he asked, "did you get in here?"

"Bulma brought us."

Vegeta turned his head to give the girl a withering look. "Well then," he said, " _Bulma_ can take you out."

"But I wanna see Raditz fight!" Goku protested.

"Kakarot!" Raditz yelled. "Do you know who you're talking to? This is _Prince_ _Vegeta._ You do what he says right now!" He pushed his brother towards the blue-haired girl.

"This isn't fair!" Goku pouted. "You promised you'd take me…"

"Not now!" Raditz was so exasperated he wanted to strangle the boy. The complete and utter lack of awareness – at least Krillin, who was now practically fleeing the scene, had a grasp on the gravity of the situation, but not Kakarot. Stupid kid couldn't see past his own nose. Oh gods, when they got home Raditz would kill him.

Bulma dragged the two boys away, yelling, something about how she was a precious flower and how dare they abandon her, they should count themselves lucky to be in her presence. Raditz wanted to die.

"Is that all?" Vegeta snapped. "Or did you invite more relatives to come and join us?"

Raditz shook his head.

"Follow me," Vegeta floated up to the balcony Krillin and Goku had appeared from.

Nappa gave Raditz a resounding slap on the back before following suit. "They raise 'em with spunk out where you're from, eh?"

"I'll say." This was the first time Tien had spoken since they'd left Arkisbe. All three of his eyes were rounded in amazement. The other two nodded in agreement.

 _Yeah,_ Raditz thought as they followed Nappa and Vegeta to their chambers. _That spunk's gonna get one of us killed some day._

* * *

Master Gohan sat in comfortable silence, sipping tea while Fortuneteller Baba peered into her crystal orb.

"You really should have come to me sooner," Baba said. "I don't know why you didn't."

Gohan shrugged. "I still don't understand why you're so concerned."

"After everything I've told you!" Baba shrieked. "Everything I've seen!"

"It will all work out, you'll see."

"Oh, will it? You realize if he dies, we're all doomed?"

Gohan was silent.

"And he _will_ die. And if he doesn't die, well, we're doomed either way! I'd rather not have Frieza blow up this planet, if you please."

Gohan shrugged again. "If we're doomed either way, then there's no point worrying, is there?" He set his cup down with a clink. "But I wouldn't doubt Goku so quickly. He's destined for great things. Not everything you see in that ball is fated. You ought to know that by now."

 **A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I know it's been a while since I've updated (sorry about that!) but life gets in the way sometimes. I am still committed to this story and I hope you'll continue to read and review.**

 **I'm also debating about the use of Kakarot vs Goku. I want to use "Goku" in the context of his friendship with Krillin and Master Gohan, and "Kakarot" when he's with his family. I'm worried that that will be confusing though, so let me know what you think.**


	18. A Defining Day

There was a time on Vegeta, maybe seven or eight decades ago, when you could kill almost anyone and nobody would care. That was just a part of a culture that valued power and dominance, and viewed physical weakness as something shameful. It is not, however, very good public policy, especially when the people being killed are first-class Saiyans and members of the royal family. Nowadays if you wanted to kill someone you had to _at least_ have a good reason, as decided by a jury of your peers.

Raditz wasn't sure if "my brother is a moron" would be considered a good reason by a jury, but right now he was willing to take his chances. Right now, all he wanted was to humiliate his brother as much he possibly could before they got home, where he could beat him at his leisure.

To this end, he was dragging Goku by the tail down the dirt path that wound through Arkisbe's town center towards their house. Kaela was running behind them – Yamcha had done Krillin the favor of a lifetime by taking charge of him, packing him up into the hovercraft and flying him back to Kame Island. Were it not for that, not even respect for Master Roshi's age and status would have prevented Raditz from punishing the human boy.

 _'Kaela too,'_ he thought. ' _Kakarot's too dumb to think to go out to the city by himself, and Krillin's too much of a wimp.'_ He turned his head to shoot her a death glare. _'I'm going to wring her neck.'_

Raditz's revenge plan was interrupted, however, by the person waiting for them outside his mother's home.

"Father!" All of Kaela's fear disappeared as she ran into the open arms of the man sitting in the dirt.

Turles stood up, his daughter's arms tight around his neck, and smiled joylessly at his two nephews. Raditz bowed, taking the opportunity to drop Goku's tail from behind him. A protective urge for his baby brother replaced his rage: Uncle Turles' moods were unpredictable, and Raditz had had several unfortunate run-ins with him in the past. No need to give him an excuse.

"Hello boys."

"Uncle." Raditz nodded. Behind him, Goku was standing up groggily.

"What happened to him?" Turles asked, gesturing towards the younger boy.

"Nothing. He just–he hit himself training." Raditz looked at his brother pointedly. "Isn't that right, Kakarot?"

Goku rubbed his face. He wasn't quite sure what Raditz was saying, but right now he was exhausted and more than a little apprehensive about his inevitable punishment. Raditz was exhibiting father-levels of anger, so Goku was more than willing to go along with whatever his brother said in the hope that it would count in his favor.

Turles snorted. "You oughta be careful with him, Raditz. I don't think he'll survive another blow to the head." He leaned to the right to get a better look at his younger nephew, who was standing unsteadily behind his brother's right leg. "Or is he the one hitting you?" he grinned malevolently.

* * *

When Bardock and Gine returned – they'd been visiting friends in other towns – they found Raditz and Goku sitting rather stiffly around the table. Turles, on the other hand, was stretched out comfortably, his daughter in his lap, chattering away about Dr. Toriyashi, Arale, and their adventures in the city.

"Oh," Gine said, pausing slightly at the door. "This is…a surprise."

"Why should it be?" Turles responded. "You've got my kid in your house."

Bardock and Gine exchanged looks. They didn't see much of Turles and for good reason: he and Gine did not get along. He'd made it obvious from the start of their relationship that he didn't think Gine was good enough for his brother, and not long after Raditz was born, the tension between them exploded. Turles had flat out accused her of seducing his brother and manipulating him into marrying her. Gine had run out of their Ter-Kader house, swearing up and down that she would never visit them again, Bardock chasing after her. Their relationship had never recovered.

The family sat down for a very awkward dinner. Kaela had already spilled the beans on the children's illicit trip to the city, so Raditz was forced to come up with an elaborate and frankly unconvincing lie about how they'd gotten there and under whose supervision.

Goku ate in uncharacteristic silence. He wasn't sure why Raditz was lying and he certainly didn't like it, but he was incredibly relieved that his brother's temper was abating. He also knew from experience that when one person was this convinced that he was in the wrong, his father was guaranteed to agree, and that always led to a beating. There was no need to reignite Raditz's anger.

He was also deep in thought. The royal palace, and the city itself, had made an impression on him. His mother was right – it _was_ like a different planet. Everything was so clean, so polished. Even the walls exuded an air of luxury. It was hard to believe now, sitting here in this small house with its plain walls, its cold stone floor, its thatched roof, that the palace was even real.

Goku knew that he was very lucky when it came to money. He had two parents, which was more than a lot of Saiyan children could say, and an adult brother who worked. He'd never gone hungry or cold, and he'd seen enough in this small town to know that that was a blessing. When Launch had lost her job a few months ago, Krillin had confessed to him that without her income, they wouldn't be able to afford food for very long. They had a little money saved up, but only enough to get them through a few weeks. Now that he had a second job things were a little better, but the siblings were still struggling.

It wasn't right for the royal family and city people to live so extravagantly when people here could barely afford to eat.

Kaela, too, was thinking. Dr. Briefs' lab was a fascinating place. He'd shown her some of the projects he was working on, and although she hadn't understand a single thing he'd said, she was entranced. What she wouldn't do to work in a place like that!

But could Saiyans work in a lab? There certainly weren't any working with Dr. Briefs.

She chewed thoughtfully. Dr. Briefs had been very encouraging. There was no reason why she couldn't work in a lab. She didn't know any Saiyans who did and had a feeling it was very uncommon, but, well, it was what she wanted to do. First though, she'd have to learn about some of the things he'd been talking about.

She looked up at her father. As much as she loved him and was thrilled to see him, she realized that he would be an obstacle on this path. It was up to her to find a way to learn the things she needed to achieve this new goal.

On Kame Island, Krillin was gazing out his bedroom window at the open ocean. He'd come home to a disappointed Master Roshi and a panicked Launch, who had spent a good two hour scouring Arkisbe for him and the missing hovercraft. Now he was in his room without dinner Thinking About What He'd Done.

And he was thinking. The events of the day had made an impression on him. He'd never imagined that he would ever even see Prince Vegeta, let alone walk around the royal palace and be within 20 feet from him. Even paralyzed by fear as he had been in that moment, he still felt an overwhelming sense of awe. Prince Vegeta was by far the strongest person he'd ever felt.

But it was more than that. Krillin had this strange, inexplicable feeling that today's events were important not just on their face, but in deeper way. This was a defining day, for him, Kaela, and Goku. This would not be the last time they saw the prince, he could feel it in his bones. Why or when or how he couldn't say, but Master Roshi always said to trust your gut, and Krillin's gut was very definite on this point.

Later that night, Raditz lay in bed unable to sleep. He was still furious at his brother, but after his uncle and cousin left he just didn't have the heart to complain to his parents. For once, Kakarot kept his mouth shut, and Raditz took this as a sign that maybe he was starting to learn some sense.

He still kicked him out of his bed; with Kaela returned home there was no reason for them to share a bed anyway. Kakarot had slumped out of the bed looking uncharacteristically pathetic, lower lip pouted sadly.

"Raditz?" he whispered in the dark.

No response.

"Raditz?" this time a little louder. Then…

"Raditz!"

"What?" Raditz snapped.

"I-I'm sorry."

"For what?"

There was a long pause. Finally, Goku said, "For making you mad?"

Raditz rolled over to look at his brother, who was huddled underneath the blanket with a hopeful expression on his face. Of course.

"I'm supposed to be leading my own squad now. How does it look when I can't even control my little brother? It makes me look like an incompetent fool. _You_ made me look like an incompetent fool!"

Goku blinked uncomprehendingly. "Why do you have to control me to be," he thought for a moment, "not an incompetent fool?"

Of course. Of course! Even the simplest, most obvious things were lost on him. Raditz turned away from him in a huff. "Just shut up, Kakarot. Shut up and go to sleep."

"But you're leaving really soon." He sat up now. "I don't want you to be mad at me."

"Go to sleep."

"I only wanted to see you."

" _I_ only wanted not be embarrassed in front of Prince Vegeta and General Nappa, but that didn't matter to you," Raditz shot back. "You only care about what you want." He turned back to his brother. "You're not so young anymore, Kakarot. You can't just do what you want and act how you want and expect everyone to be pleased with you."

Goku swallowed hard. Raditz had never yelled at him like this before.

Raditz took a deep breath and rolled onto his back, trying to calm himself. "Go to sleep, Kakarot. It'll be fine in the morning. Just, just go to sleep now."

Goku slid back under the covers. He wanted to be a good boy, and he wanted to do the right thing. But so many times, people told him that doing the right thing made him bad, or that the things he thought were right were actually wrong. Father was always yelling at him, and Master Roshi always told him to listen to Father. Even Launch told him off sometimes, and now Raditz?

Being good was hard.

 _Master Gohan will know what to do,_ he thought as he fell asleep.


	19. Beach Day

"You tested the humans today? They did well?"

"Surprisingly well, Father," Prince Vegeta said. They were having dinner in the royal dining room, along with General Nappa and General Paragus. "Nappa and I were both impressed with their skill, although of course their strength is lacking."

King Vegeta nodded. "That's to be expected. And what of your own training?"

The prince grinned confidently. "I'm getting stronger every day."

"Big words. Do you agree, Nappa?"

Nappa smiled amiably. "The orange doesn't fall far from the tree, your Highness, but I think I've still got a few things to teach him, eh Vegeta?"

"Not much anymore, old man," Vegeta grinned. It was only in the safety of home that he could ever allow his face and mannerisms to demonstrate just how fond he was of Nappa. With Frieza, that could only ever be a weakness.

"Well, I'm very pleased," King Vegeta said, leaning back in his chair at the head of the table. "I know that you were not happy when Lord Frieza made this request of you, son, but I think it will work out to our advantage. Why should we not use the humans in every capacity where they can be helpful?"

Nappa nodded. "My thoughts exactly, your Highness."

"And you, Paragus?"

The general looked up from his plate. So far he'd remained silent, but the tight grip on his utensils betrayed his disapproval of the conversation being had.

"My lord?"

"What reports do you have from the good Dr. Briefs?"

"My lord, he says that he has successfully improved his capsule technology. Now they can be used for nearly anything, included weapons. He has created a portable capsulizer which can be attached to any object, allowing it be made into a capsule."

"Excellent," the king said. "A demonstration is in order. Arrange it."

"Certainly, your highness."

"We saw his daughter today," Nappa offered. "Bulma, the little one."

"You were in the lab?" Paragus asked.

"No, this was in the south wing."

"What?!" Paragus' voice had gotten considerably louder, and a look of disgust marred his face. "What was that girl doing in the south wing?!"

"Calm down, Paragus," Nappa snapped back. "She was just walking around."

"It's sheer insolence," Paragus spat. "These people think that because we've allowed them in the palace, that means they are free to come and go as they please-"

"That's enough, Paragus." King Vegeta was glaring at the general, his open face now furrowed in displeasure.

"Your highness, if you'll allow me," Paragus said, struggling to keep his voice under control, "you have been kind enough to show the doctor and his family grace, but over the years they have come to take it for granted-"

"Tell me, Paragus," the king interrupted, "can you do what Dr. Briefs does?"

"N-no, your highness, but-"

"And do you know of anyone who can do what Dr. Briefs does?"

"Your highness, if I may, no one is indispensable."

"You ought to remind yourself of that, Paragus," the king said pointedly. "I believe I've made my feelings on Dr. Briefs and his family perfectly clear on several occasions. They have my complete trust, and I will not tolerate baseless insinuations against them."

Paragus' face twitched as he quelled his anger.

Prince Vegeta watched the interaction curiously. It was not the first time he'd seen his father defend the human scientist. "Father, is there a particular reason you feel this way about Dr. Briefs?"

The king looked at his son thoughtfully. "I forget how young you are sometimes. Yes, I supposed you wouldn't remember this after all."

"If you'll allow me, your highness," Nappa interjected. The king nodded, and he continued. "About 15 years ago, we had a…little problem. There was a faction of humans who were trying to organize some kind of uprising, I guess. They called themselves the Red Ribbon Army.

"At first it was just a little trouble in some of the smaller towns and villages to the north and west, but then they started taking over whole towns. Rumor was they were trying to consolidate whole swathes of land, so they could rule over some kind of human-only empire. It was a huge hassle; every time we quashed them in one village they'd pop up in another.

"Anyway, what happened was that one of their officers approached Dr. Briefs and asked him to help them design supercharged weapons so they could fight against our soldiers."

"Oh," the prince nodded in understanding. "Dr. Briefs turned him in."

"It was more than that," Nappa said. "Dr. Briefs came to us with an ingenious plan. He pretended to go along with the officer and tracked down the head of the rebellion, the so-called Commander Red. He basically handed him to us on a silver platter."

"Dr. Briefs masterminded the whole thing," the king added. "If it weren't for him, we might still be chasing these Red Ribbon people from town to town."

Vegeta nodded again. "He's certainly earned our trust then. Perhaps I should have an audience with him, get to know him better."

He looked to his father for approval, and the king nodded.

"You'll arrange that as well, Paragus."

"I should like to meet him before I leave," the prince added.

The general bowed his head politely towards him. "I am at your service."

* * *

In Arkisbe, Raditz was busy preparing for his first off-planet orders as a squad leader. He had three days left, and he was determined to make sure his new team was well-prepared for the challenges of the Galactic Frieza Army. When they weren't training, Raditz spent his time lecturing them at about the customs and practices observed aboard Frieza's ships and on his layover planets.

Never leave your room without your scouter. Never go into the mess hall alone. In fact, it's better not to leave your quarters alone, at least not until you get the lay of the land. Stay in your wing, don't wander off into other parts of the ship where you don't belong. Don't get into fights with other soldiers; Frieza doesn't like trouble aboard his ships. Don't get friendly with other species – and this one was directed specifically at Yamcha. The only people you can trust are other Saiyans. Or at least, Raditz hoped so. Nowadays most Saiyans were quite comfortable with humans, but there were some who still saw them as easy targets.

The leadership role was already wearing on him. He was having trouble sleeping, and he could see that his teammates were nervous too. Even Jasper seemed more tense than usual.

It's a transition, Raditz kept telling himself. That's all it was. Once they got through the first mission, everything would fall into place. Hopefully.

With Raditz fully occupied, mentally and physically, Kakarot was spending all his free time with his father. Bardock too was leaving soon, and Gine had pushed him to spend these last few days bonding with his younger son.

That was how Bardock found himself having lunch at Kame House.

There truly was nothing quite like Launch's cooking, he thought as he sipped his broth. It wasn't that it was _bad,_ necessarily, just that it was strange. He had no idea what she'd made the broth from and frankly wasn't sure he wanted to know. There was fried fish as well, which was much too salty, but at least it went well with the potatoes, which were completely tasteless.

He glanced around at the table. No one else seemed to mind, least of all Launch herself, who was all smiles today, her dark blue hair (Bardock could have sworn she was blonde the last time he saw her, but supposed that was part of her weird condition) tied up with a green ribbon that matched her short skirt. Maybe she had trouble tasting food? And Master Roshi and Krillin were probably used to it. Kakarot, well, he was an 11-year-old Saiyan boy – he'd eat rocks if he was hungry enough.

He had to admit though, she was actually quite pleasant to be with. It was too bad about her temper, really, because a pretty girl like her ought to have suitors lined up for miles. She was old enough for it, or at least Bardock assumed she was. You could never tell how young a human was, only how old. Yeah, he thought, that temper wasn't doing her any favors in that department, or in any other. He'd noticed that the food was not quite as abundant as it could be, and while Kakarot stuffed his face with abandon, he tried to be conservative even as Master Roshi encouraged him to have another helping.

Well, maybe there was something he could do about that.

"You know," Bardock said, "that new guy, Jasper? He's going off-planet with Raditz in a couple days. The bar will need someone to take his place. Maybe I could put in a good word for you?"

Launch's face brightened. "Really?"

"Sure. The owner knows me pretty well, I could probably talk him into it."

"Oh, that would be wonderful!" she exclaimed.

"No!"

Everyone turned to stare at Krillin.

"I-I just meant that, well, I have another job now, so Launch doesn't need to work."

"Yes I do," Launch said, frowning a little at her brother.

Krillin fidgeted in his seat. "Well, maybe you could find another job, something better."

Launch ignored him and smiled appreciatively at Bardock. "I would love to get my old job back. If you could convince him it would mean the world to me."

Krillin stood up, his round face darkened, a tight grip on his plate. "I'm going to clean up," he mumbled. "Excuse me."

Kakarot watched him curiously as he marched back to the kitchen. He made to follow him, but Master Roshi put a hand on his shoulder. "You haven't finished your food," he said with a smile.

* * *

"Why do you think Krillin was so upset about Launch working at the bar again?" Kakarot asked as he and his father strolled back towards Arkisbe.

Bardock shrugged.

"Maybe it's because he'll miss her." And then Kakarot reached up to hold his father's hand.

Bardock's fingers twitched at the warm touch. It wasn't something he normally encouraged, but now seemed like an appropriate time to make an exception. Kakarot was holding onto his first three fingers, lightly, as though wanting to make sure he was still there.

"Maybe," he offered.

Father and son continued down the path in comfortable silence. As they reached the town square, they saw two familiar figures: Arale and her father, Dr. Toriyashi.

Kakarot ran over to give his cousin a big bear hug, while Bardock and Dr. Toriyashi exchanged uncomfortable bows.

Dr. Toriyashi was in his 30s, rather short and scrawny-looking, his hair now balding. He was the exact opposite of the ideal Saiyan man, and what Turi had ever seen in him Bardock would never know. As far as he could tell, she was just as committed to him now as she was 10 years ago, when she'd abandoned her family for him.

"Look Goku!" Arale said. "We got a letter for Kaela."

"Kaela?" Bardock said curiously as Kakarot took the letter.

Dr. Toriyashi nodded enthusiastically. "It's from Dr. Briefs! Apparently the kids met him in the city, and he wants to visit them here! Arale too!"

"Who's Dr. Briefs?"

Toriyashi stared at Bardock in disbelief. "I-He…He's a very well-known scientist, he works for the royal family."

"Oh. He sounds important."

"He's _very_ important."

"Let's see this letter then," Bardock motioned to his son, who placed the paper in his hand.

" _Dear Kaela,_ " Bardock read aloud, " _it was nice to meet you and your friends the other day. You're a very smart girl, and I am happy that you had fun in my lab. My daughter Bulma also enjoyed spending time with you. We would like to visit you all in your town soon, and we would also like to meet your friend Arale. Please respond to this letter with your communicator code so that we can call you. Bulma says no one writes letters these days!_

 _See you soon!_

 _Dr. Briefs and Bulma Briefs"_

"Oh hey!" Kakarot grinned. "That'll be fun! I really liked Bulma. She talks a lot, but she's funny."

"But Kaela's not here," Bardock pointed out. "She went home with her father."

"Oh!" Dr. Toriyashi's face fell. "Well that's a shame, but this is an opportunity we can't waste. Can Kaela come back when Dr. Briefs visits?"

"You'd have to ask her grandmother."

"Please give me her code," Dr. Toriyashi dug into his pocket for his communicator. "This is really an excellent opportunity. Kaela really is a very smart girl, and this kind of thing could change her life! All the children, I mean just to know Dr. Briefs personally, what an honor!"

Bardock frowned a little as he gave him his mother's code. He doubted that Toriyashi cared about Kaela this much; more likely, he saw an opportunity to ingratiate himself with somebody important. Well, it wouldn't hurt the girl, at least.

They parted ways and Bardock and Kakarot continued towards their house. The boy was telling him about Bulma when Bardock stopped in his tracks.

"Wait a sec, why would Kaela give this Briefs guy Turi's address?"

Kakarot shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe 'cause Uncle Toriyashi's a scientist too?"

Bardock frowned as he considered this. "I doubt your Uncle Turles will like this very much. This science stuff, it's great for a hobby, but it's not for us."

"Why not?"

"It's just…," he paused, not sure where he was going with this. "I don't – no one in our family's ever done it before."

"So Kaela will be the first!"

Bardock made a disapproving noise in his throat. These kids, why couldn't they just do what they were supposed to?

"What are we gonna do now?" Kakarot asked.

They really oughta be training. "What do you want to do?"

"Can we visit Master Gohan?" Kakarot suggested hopefully.

"No," Bardock snapped.

"Please! He's gonna teach me to be good!"

"You wanna be good, you do what I tell ya. You don't need _him."_

Kakarot pouted.

"Here, how about we go to the beach."

"But we were just at the beach," Kakarot said.

"Yeah, but this is a nicer beach. C'mon," Bardock held out his arms for his son to jump into. "You'll like it."

Bardock's "nicer beach" was about 20 minutes from Ter-Kader, on the other side of Fire Mountain. They landed on a small and craggy mountain covered with grass and flowers, and made their way down the mountainside until they reached a cave that Bardock ushered him into.

"Now," Bardock said, turning his son away from the entrance, "look at that."

"Woooooooooow…"

They were overlooking a short stretch of beach, the sand a bright orange color, completely different from the beige sand that Kakarot was used to. Turquoise water sparkled in the sun, and down the mountainside orchids and roses bloomed in every color. It was a sight like nothing Kakarot had seen before.

"It's beautiful," Kakarot whispered in awe.

Bardock grinned. "Yeah. It's the nicest place this side of Vegeta. I used to come here with your mom back when we were…younger."

"Hey," Kakarot said, pointing at a grassy ledge a little ways down. "What are those people doing?"

Bardock looked down. "Oh geez," he muttered. He grabbed a stone and hauled it at the couple. "Hey!" he yelled out at the them, "find a cave or something you morons!"

They scrambled to cover themselves as Kakarot waved at them cheerfully. Bardock shook his head disapprovingly. Kids these days. At least _he'd_ had the decency to find somewhere with a little coverage.

 _"Wow. This place really is nice," Gine turned back to Bardock and smiled._

 _He smiled back, lying down propped up on his elbows at the cave's entrance._

 _She turned back. "So is this where you bring all your girls?"_

 _"Believe it or not, you're the only girl I've ever brought here."_

 _"I don't believe it."_

 _"Well, it's true. Actually, the only other person I've ever been with here is Toma."_

 _She turned and cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him. Bardock scowled back. "He showed me this place when we were kids. This is where he brings all_ his _girls."_

 _Gine turned back to take in the view. Then –_

 _"Oh my–are those two having sex?!"_

 _Bardock crawled out to look at where she was pointing in disgust. "Hah, yeah. That happens sometimes."_

 _"Hey!" Gine threw a rock at the couple. "Shame on you! Perverts!"_

 _Bardock laughed as the two scrambled to find someplace more private._

 _Gine turned on him. "I'm not having sex with you."_

 _"Why not?!"_

 _"It's shameful! Anyone could see!"_

 _"Not in here."_

 _"I don't care," she snapped. "I'm not in the mood anyway."_

 _"Aw, c'mon!"_

 _"I'm going down for a swim. You can stay here and take care of yourself if you like."_

The two made their way down to the beach, Kakarot running into the water until he was waist deep, splashing around happily.

"Woohoo!" he cheered. "The water's so nice Father!"

Bardock smiled at him from where he was standing on the shore, waves lapping gently at his feet. He'd brought Raditz here once when he was a baby, but Raditz hadn't enjoyed it nearly as much. He'd never been big on sand. He was more comfortable ankle-deep in soil.

Kakarot slipped in the water and fell face first. "Ow! I have salt in my eyes!"

"Just blink it away, you'll be fine," Bardock called out.

But Kakarot was already running towards him, eyes shut tight. He grabbed his father's shirt and started wiping his face on it.

"Kakarot, get off me!"

"My eyes!"

"Kakarot!" Bardock pushed him off but lost his balance and landed on his rear in the sand.

"Hey, wait, my eyes still hurt." Kakarot fell on top of him and grabbed his shirt again.

"Oh for gods' sakes, here!" Bardock pulled his son into his lap and wiped his face dry, putting his shirt over his eyes, and clamping down on it. "Just hold still, it'll feel better in a second."

They waited.

"Okay, it feels better now."

Bardock sighed. "Kakarot, you need to toughen up a little."

"I'm tough!"

"You just got your ass handed to you by a handful of salt water."

Kakarot pouted. "Well, it hurt."

"Lots of things hurt. I get hurt all the time, but I don't run for help every two minutes. Look, you keep saying you wanna be stronger than me, right?" Kakarot nodded. "Well, you're never gonna be. Not like this."

Kakarot blinked in confusion, hurt marring his chubby face. "But-but I'm training really hard."

"It's not – look, there's more to strength than training. It's a-a way of thinking about stuff, you know, taking on challenges. You need to be able to face challenges and…," Bardock thought for a moment. "Look, when did you get that kamehameha thing down? When did you really master it?"

"A few months ago, I think."

"And since then, what else have you learned? What else that's new?"

He was quiet.

"See, this is what I'm talking about. I know you don't like it when I say this, but Master Roshi's training, it's just, it's no good for you. There's nothing new for him to teach you, so now you're getting lazy. And then stuff like this happens," he gestured towards the sea. "You fall down once and you're acting like a little baby. 'Cause there's no challenge for you anymore."

Kakarot shrunk at the words, his little face unusually pensive.

Bardock sighed heavily. "Kakarot, you're getting older now. Raditz was your age yesterday, and now he's a man. And if you really want to be something, you need to be tougher than this. You need to be able to, to push yourself back up when you fall, you know? Wipe the salt outta your own eyes."

"But if I don't train with Master Roshi, who else should I train with?"

"Train with your mother. She can fight as good as anyone. Or, you know, there's always a few Saiyans around town. Ask them to train you."

"Okay," he said quietly.

Bardock groaned. "Kakarot. I know you like Master Roshi, and okay, yeah, he taught you some good stuff. But, look, I'm trying to help you, kid."

"I know," he said quietly.

"Well then don't look so sad! Your mother's going to kill me."

Kakarot gave him a small smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Bardock groaned again, falling on his back in the sand.

"Oh, my boy." He covered his eyes with his hands.

Kakarot lay down next to him, resting his hands on his belly and looking up at his father. He wasn't sure what they were doing. Father seemed upset, but this was a different kind of upset, different from the shouting and hitting he was used to.

Was he…sad?

"You're gonna be okay," Bardock whispered, and reached out to lay a large, rough hand over his son's small, soft ones. He repeated it, over and over like a prayer. And Kakarot lay next to him in the sand, his father's damp arm resting against his cheek, and wondered once again whether he was truly being the person he wanted to be.


	20. Endings and Beginnings

"And so you see, it's actually quite simple. I simply extrapolated from the basic laws of particle physics and atomic structures – wait, let me show you the blueprints, I have them here somewhere..."

"That's alright, doctor," Prince Vegeta signed heavily. Dr. Briefs was a challenging conversationalist, with a habit of jumping from topic to topic as one idea reminded him of another. It was no doubt what made him such a genius – Vegeta had seen the results of his work for himself when the doctor had presented his new capsulizer to the king. Unfortunately, Vegeta was finding it quite frustrating, and he wasn't nearly as interested in particle physics as Dr. Briefs was.

"Look," Vegeta said, "this is all very interesting, but what I really want to talk to you about is something very different. General Paragus says that you also work in, ah, biology, the body, yes?"

"Certainly. But you're not interested in that," Dr. Briefs waved a hand at him dismissively as he continued to rifle through his papers. "No, no, physics is much more interesting. Biology is so limited, you know, to what's already there. But physics! With physics, everything is possible! Why I-"

" _Dr. Briefs_ ," Vegeta interrupted through gritted teeth. "I have a very specific question that I need you to answer, is that clear?"

"Oh." Dr. Briefs straightened up and readjusted his glasses to focus on the young prince. "Of course. Yes, yes. What is it?"

"I have recently recruited some young human men to join Frieza's Galactic Army. What I want to know is, how much of a disadvantage are they at, compared to us Saiyans?"

"Oh, I see. You mean in terms of fighting?"

"Exactly."

"Ah, well." Dr. Briefs cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses again, as though preparing to give a lecture. "I have only a limited understanding of so-called "power levels" and the theory behind its calculation, and quite frankly I believe it to be tenuous at best. But let me speak to the physiological differences between humans and Saiyans. Now as we all know," – there was no one but Vegeta in the room – "humans and Saiyans are descended from a common ancestor, and-"

"They are?" Vegeta was genuinely surprised.

"Of course!" Dr. Briefs gave him a bemused smile. "You never heard the story of the Great Planter?"

"That's just a children's story."

"All stories have a source in reality, you know. Why, my own very favorite story as a child-"

"You were saying we have a common ancestor," Vegeta said pointedly.

"Ah, yes." Dr. Briefs cleared his throat again and launched into his lecture. "We have a common ancestor, and this accounts for the overwhelming overlap in our physiology. A mere 0.01 percent of DNA separates a human from a Saiyan."

This too was news to Vegeta, but he'd learned now not to interrupt the doctor.

"Now as we know, the main visible difference between humans and Saiyans is the presence of the tail, which enables the famed Great Ape, or Oozaru, transformation. Little is known about exactly how the tail's special hormones enable this legendary transformation, or what impact it has on the physical strength of the Saiyan, although research is underway. So let us instead turn to what we know about the physiological differences that account for the disparity in strength."

Vegeta felt a part of his mind shut down.

"Firstly, we have the larger size of the lungs in the Saiyans," - here, Dr. Briefs pointed at an imaginary board – "which increases the amount of oxygen inhaled into the body, which in turn increases muscle size. Additionally, we find that blood clotting in Saiyans occurs at a much faster rate, which greatly speeds up the healing process-"

"Aha!" Vegeta snapped forward. "This is where the zenkai boost comes in!"

"There's really very little proof of such a thing existing."

Vegeta felt his tenuous grasp on the conversation slipping. "What does that mean?"

"My team and I have conducted extensive research on this so-called 'zenkai boost,'" Dr. Briefs said. "There's a pervasive belief that Saiyans become stronger with every serious injury, but I've seen no evidence of it. The only thing we can prove is that the healing process occurs much faster in Saiyans than it does in humans. This could account for the zenkai boost theory, since speed of recovery ensures that healing is more complete, and that in turn accounts for greater strength or greater perceived strength, as the case may be."

Vegeta took several deep breaths. He'd never been more confused or frustrated in his life, but he had to get this conversation back on track. "Fine. _Fine_. That's not important right now. What I need to know is, how strong can humans become, compared to Saiyans."

Dr. Briefs cleared his throat again and adjusted his glasses. "Well, as I said previously, strength is a difficult thing to calculate, and I am very skeptical of the Cold Empire's methods in assigning numerical value to strength. But let us use their system as a framework for your question. What's the average power level of a Saiyan at the age you're thinking of?"

Vegeta immediately thought of Raditz. "1000."

"Hmm." Dr. Briefs sat back, scratching his chin thoughtfully as he quietly made some mental calculations. A few seconds passed.

"Well, I'd say in a human with some physical training, you'd get a power level of anywhere between 300 and 750."

"That's a huge range!" Vegeta said, exasperated.

Dr. Briefs shrugged. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can narrow it down further. The science is really very imprecise."

Vegeta slumped back in his chair and groaned. "So, this could be a disaster, or it could be fine. That's very helpful," he snapped.

Dr. Briefs reached over and patted his knee genially. "The trick to getting to the higher end of the scale is training. A vigorous training regimen should narrow the gap between humans and Saiyans, especially at a young age. The physiological similarities between our two species makes it really very easy."

Vegeta huffed.

* * *

It was dark when they landed. According to their information, it was dark most of the day on this planet. Kezah reviewed the mission brief as the rest of her squad began putting on their battle armor.

"I can't find that stupid scouter," a man with brown, shoulder-length hair complained.

"Well, Delmar, if you had kept it on like you were _supposed_ to," Kezah said without looking up, "you wouldn't have that problem, would you?"

Delmar shot her a nasty look. Kezah was a high-ranking officer in the Hotsu Elite Force Guard. Her short, dark blue curls and small berry mouth hid an iron will and a cunning nature. To put it simply, Kezah was not one to cross.

Aside from Delmar, Kezah's crew consisted of Lodj, a slim-figured blond who's specialty on Hotsu was reconnaissance, Khera, a fierce warrior with black hair down to her waist and a reputation for brutality, Zhera, a woman with fiery orange hair known for more tactical experience, and Roshta, another brute-force type, with dark, purplish-brown hair and a much more open countenance than either Khera or Kezah.

"It says that the average power level of the people here is 500," Kezah announced.

"What does that even _mean?"_ Roshta pouted.

"Nothing," Zhera smirked. "It's a pathetic attempt at technology from a backwards race."

"Seriously though," Roshta said, "what does that tell us? What is it even measuring?"

"Not battle skill, that's for sure," Lodj said as he tied up his boots. He looked up at his captain. "Let's leave the scouters here, they're useless."

Kezah shrugged. "The communicator feature has its uses."

Zhera snorted loudly. "Really? It doesn't even work outside the Cold system."

"Well, it's what we have," Kezah snapped. She stood up. "Get your gear on. We're going out."

"What's our plan?" Delmar said.

"Same as always."

It took a while, but eventually someone in the planet's government tracked the Hotsus from the trail of destruction they left behind them. There was a tense negotiation, but eventually the two sides came to an agreement. They would pit their best warrior against Kezah; if their fighter won, the Hotsus would leave in peace. If he lost, the planet would surrender.

The two faced off in a barren land, surrounded by the terrified faces of the planet's denizens. Kezah's crew stood behind her.

The fight was brutal. Their warrior attacked Kezah viciously, lashing out a stream of punches and kicks from every angle. Kezah blocked his moves, landing a few blows occasionally, but none nearly as violent as the ones she received in turn. Yet she never betrayed concern. She floated around him like a feather, giggling when she dodged a particularly expert move. It was like she was playing a game.

Of course, she was.

The fight went on for about 30 minutes before Kezah stopped suddenly. She stood stock still in front of her opponent, levitating a few feet off the ground. A breeze lifted the curls that had fallen across her forehead, revealing an empty gaze.

A murmur of confusion and fear went through the crowd.

The fighter panted. "Do you give up?" he shouted at her.

"Yes."

A collective gasp went up from the crowd.

"Wha-what…you give up? You'll leave?"

The corners of Kezah's mouth twitched. "I give up, and I will leave. Eventually."

The man crumpled to the ground.

Behind him, Zhera grinned. The _ki-_ formed dagger in her hand shone brightly before dissipating.

No one had seen her move. No one, except for Kezah and her crew.

Screams filled the air.

"No! No, wait!" An older man – a government official – pushed through the crowd towards Kezah and the Hotsus. "You cannot do this! This was not our agreement! We agreed to a one-on-one battle!"

Kezah stared at him, head tilted to one side. Behind her, Zhera giggled.

"I don't think so." She bent forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose. He was panting, the hot breath blowing into her face. "Why," she whispered, "would I make a deal with an insect?"

It was the last thing he heard.

* * *

The squad made their way back to their pods in good spirits.

"It was good of them to all gather 'round to watch the fight like that," Delmar chuckled. "Made the job that much easier."

"Every time," Khera grinned.

Roshta and Lodj exchanged uncertain looks. The Hotsus were still very much outsiders in the Galactic Frieza Army. They were still adjusting to the nature of the missions and how the system worked – who to report to, how to make the best use of the mission briefs, that kind of thing. But of all the Hotsus who had joined the GFA, Kezah and her crew were perhaps the most suited to the nature of the work. Simply put, Kezah and her team conducted "special" missions for Queen Selardi back on Hotsu, getting rid of little problems that made her life…unpleasant.

But Roshta and Lodj had always been on the same page, and they both were becoming more and more uncomfortable with the kind of work they were now tasked to do. Part of it was the thing that bothered every Hotsu, the idea of being "employed" by "inferior beings." But there was something else too. Something…wrong.

* * *

The day had come: Raditz and Bardock were leaving.

It was early in the morning, the sun just coming up. Bardock and Raditz had folded up their Vegetan tunics and put on their GFA leotards – they would pick up their armor and scouters on board the ship.

Kakarot was sitting in a corner, munching quietly on a chunk of bread. His mother was flitting nervously around the two men, pulling at the tight uniforms to get them "neat."

"This…isn't…the…same…length," she muttered as she pulled mercilessly at Raditz's right shorts leg.

"Ow – mother, you're pinching me!"

Kakarot finished his bread and brushed the crumbs from his hands, but didn't leave his spot. It wasn't time yet. For now, it would just be the three of them, huddled together and talking softly.

This was a ritual that he'd been watching from the side for eight years. Bardock and Raditz would leave, and he and his mother would stay here. His mother would be sad for a while. Then after some time, one or the other would come back.

Kakarot had never felt particularly moved by this; he was still too young to seriously consider the possibility that one or other may not return. For Kakarot, all this really meant that now he'd be free to do whatever he wanted. The downside, as far as he could see, was that he didn't like for his mother to be sad.

Eventually, Bardock pulled back from the group. "Kakarot?"

Kakarot got up and went over to his father, who bent down and patted him on the head. "You'll be good? Listen to your mother?"

He nodded and gave him his best smile.

Bardock sighed. Kakarot had been uncharacteristically quiet in the last few days since their beach excursion, and he seemed oddly thoughtful. With any luck, this was the beginning of the maturity he would develop going into Growth.

Raditz ruffled his brother's hair. "Train hard, okay? I wanna have a real challenge when I get back."

Kakarot pushed him playfully. "Next time I'm going to beat you!"

"That's it!" Raditz grinned.

Bardock moved towards the door. "Okay. Here we go."

"Be careful. Please." Gine touched his arm gently.

Bardock smiled at her and winked.

"You too, Raditz. Watch yourself."

Raditz nodded solemnly, and the two left.

* * *

Vegeta, too, was preparing to leave. Unlike the ordinary soldiers, Vegeta was allowed to bring personal possessions onboard, and so he was in his room, packing his things, when his father walked in.

"Father?" he turned to face him.

"Son." King Vegeta gathered his cape and sat down on his son's bed. "I know that you are…unhappy, with your current situation with Lord Frieza."

Vegeta huffed loudly, throwing the rest of his clothes into his bag. "Father, the situation is beyond unhappy. It's unbearable!"

"Son…"

"I am tired of being his, his _pet,_ a trained monkey that exists only to do his bidding. He makes a mockery of me, of Nappa, every time we are in his presence!"

"That's enough, Vegeta," the kind said gruffly. "You are no pet, my son, and I would never send you to be a pet to anyone, no matter how powerful. You are an emissary of the Planet Vegeta and our royal court." The king turned to face his son more directly, his voice rising. "I've spoken with Nappa, and it's clear to me that Lord Frieza shows you immense favor, but you continue to be ungrateful. You show none of the grace or tact that bely your status."

"Father-"

"You will _listen,_ Vegeta," the king snapped, "because I am tired of having this conversation with you. You are supposed to be representing our government to the Cold Empire. You are supposed to be protecting our interests and advocating on our behalf. Do you have any idea what's happening outside these walls? Hmm? No, because you show no interest in anything that has to do with the actual business of governing."

"The Cold Empire provides us with hundreds of products, with the money and influence that allows us to negotiate deals and trades with other planets and solar systems. We need them to keep our trade prices low so our people don't revolt!"

"So, you admit that I'm part of a trade!"

"No, you fool!" King Vegeta yelled. "Our soldiers are the trade. _You_ are our ambassador! When will you understand that?! When will you finally step up to your role?!" He got up, his cape swishing around him as he marched to the intricate wooden door. "You're a prince, Vegeta," he spat. "I expect you to act like it."

The door slammed behind him.


	21. Mission 1

A loud, piercing scream echoed over the mountain. Birds burst through the trees in flight. There was a loud thud, then more screaming.

"You come back here! I said come back right now!" A black-haired little girl with an ax in her hand and murder in her eyes marched through the halls of the Ox King's castle.

"Chi Chi!" The man himself came running towards her. "What happened? Who screamed? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is not alright!" the little girl stomped her foot. "Those kids are awful Daddy! That girl called me a booger brain, and the boy kicked me!" She lifted her leg to show him the bruise Lapis had left.

"Chi Chi," the Ox King cajoled, "Lapis and Lazuli are our guests, and their big brother has just left on a very dangerous mission. They're probably acting up because they're worried about him."

"I'm worried about Yamcha," Chi Chi shot back, "but I behave!"

Her father sighed. Chi Chi had always been spoiled. The Ox King had never been much on discipline, and after her mother died of the sickness, he couldn't bring himself to deny Chi Chi anything her heart desired. As a result, Chi Chi's idea of "good behavior" consisted of keeping her voice down and not throwing a tantrum over eating her vegetables.

Just as Ox King was about to ask her to be the bigger person, Lapis peeked out of a doorway and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Hey booger brain! Lay off the cakes, your tummy looks like you're having a baby!"

He barely managed to close the door before Chi Chi's ax hit it. She ran to the door, pulled the ax out of the wood, and flew into the room. But Lapis and Lazuli were already climbing out the window. Chi Chi put the ax between her teeth and followed, undeterred. Revenge would be hers.

* * *

It went like this: First, you were searched for any prohibited items. Pretty much everything was prohibited – food, clothing, jewelry, tokens of any sort. This always went quickly because no one ever brought anything with them, they all knew better. Then their uniforms were taken and they showered. This was a new thing, instituted after the sickness spread and some people suggested that it was a virus picked up in space. Then they put on their cleaned uniforms and issued a new piece of armor. The style had changed recently – now it included leg pads that covered the thighs and extended over the crotch.

Scouters were passed around along with the armor. Finally, squad leaders lined up to get their first mission briefs.

This was the line were Raditz found himself. A few people stood between him and his father, but Raditz made a point not to try to make eye contact with him. On his very first mission, Bardock had taken Raditz aside and told him that as long as they were on duty, they were not father and son. Bardock was not there to guard him or train him or even socialize with him. They were not even colleagues. Bardock outranked him, and Raditz had better not forget that.

Of course, it was easy for Bardock to say. No one ever called him "Raditz's father." No one ever asked him to introduce them to Raditz. No one was ever visibly disappointed when he didn't live up to his son's reputation.

Meanwhile, Yamcha was breaking in his armor. "You know, this thing is weirdly comfortable." He stretched right and left, and then squatted a few times.

Behind him, someone giggled. Two Saiyan women were openly ogling him. One waved.

Yamcha blushed and straightened up. Tien scowled at him. Jasper seemed oblivious.

"Alright," Raditz was back. "We're going to be heading out in a couple of hours-"

"Hours?" Yamcha squeaked.

"Yeah." Raditz was too busy examining his brief, making sure every detail was burned into his brain, to notice Yamcha's escalating panic. He hadn't felt so unprepared for anything since his very first mission. "We have just enough time to settle into quarters before we have to go. We should probably do some light stretching," he said, finally looking up. "We're going to be in a joint ship this time, but it'll still be a tight fit. I don't want you cramping on me from the get-go."

"There are living quarters in this place?" Tien asked skeptically. The ship they were on didn't seem big enough.

"No. This is just a, you know, Transit Post. A place to pick up uniforms and stuff." He gestured vaguely. "We're actually gonna take another ship out to the main big ship. It's called the Motherlode. Or we call it that, anyway."

"We're taking another flight? I'm already feeling sick," Yamcha complained.

Raditz glared at him. "Stop whining. It's a short trip, okay? We'll be there in less than an hour probably." He moved to leave. "Just stay close to me, and remember what I told you about this place."

Jasper immediately began to follow Raditz. Tien and Yamcha exchanged reluctant looks, but hesitantly followed as well.

They were officially members of the Galactic Frieza Army.

* * *

It was raining when they arrived on the planet. Raditz was still obsessively looking over his mission brief.

A sparsely populated planet. Inhabitants with power levels ranging from 400 to 800. Easy prey, but the gravity here was much higher than they were used to, making flying all but impossible. That was a big disadvantage for them – the denizens of this planet could all fly.

"There are many mountains here." Jasper was leaning over him, cold blue eyes scanning the brief. "We can use them for cover. And the rain will make it harder for them to see us."

"Right," Raditz nodded. "Good idea." He scanned the landscape carefully. "Let's take a minute to get used to the gravity. Then we'll split up. I'll take Yamcha and we'll go behind those mountains to the east. You," he turned to Jasper, "go with Tien north. That's where the most people are. If you run into problems use the communicator. We'll regroup here in two hours. The scouters have timers." He demonstrated on his own, and the boys set theirs too.

"Wait, what are we supposed to do here?" Yamcha asked.

Raditz stared at him. "Kill every living thing you come across. Frieza wants this planet dead."

"Bu-but why?"

Raditz shrugged. "That's for him to know. We don't ask questions, we follow orders." He straightened up and examined his troops, such as they were. "Right. Move out."

* * *

"We must be strategic." Jasper and Tien were curled up in a narrow ditch. Several miles away there was a large town, their first target. "We are outnumbered, and we do not have the advantage of high ground. So we must make low ground our advantage."

Tien nodded. He was trying to seem tough and like he knew what he was doing, but in truth he was terrified. How could two people fight an entire city, and to the death no less? And how the hell did you make low ground an advantage?

"Follow me." Jasper began to crawl down the ditch, Tien on his heels. Mud squelched between their fingers as rain pounded down on their heads. It was amazing, Tien thought. Vegeta had been in drought for years now, but even in its best years it never saw so much rain. That's what happened when you had two suns.

Where the ditch ended, Jasper stuck his head up. There had a clear view of the town and were now much closer.

Perfect.

"On my count," he said. "We'll blast the town, but close to the ground. Do you see the road?" Tien nodded. "Aim for that. The energy should make a groove in the earth."

"Mud," Tien corrected. He was soaked.

"Yes." Jasper turned to look at him, and his blue eyes suddenly seemed much warmer. "Are you ready?"

Tien nodded again. He was ready as one could ever be to commit mass murder.

"1." Together, they got into position. Tien lowered his aim in line with Jasper. "2." The _ki_ began to form. "3."

The blasts flew through the mud, splattering it everywhere, just as Jasper wanted. One blast, Tien's, hit the bottom floor of a building on the edge of town. Jasper's hit the road.

Screams went up. The earth below them was trembling with the force of impact.

"Hurry!" Jasper yelled over the noise – he was running towards the town, blasting the base of buildings in rapid succession. "We must act quickly while we have the advantage!"

Tien rushed after him.

"Go the other way!" Jasper yelled.

Turning, slipping in the mud, desperately trying to keep his balance as Jasper's blasts shook the earth. He hardly knew what he was doing anymore, there was barely time to think. He couldn't even see straight from the light of his own blasts.

"Tienshinhan!" Jasper was in his ear – the communicator. "Where are you?"

"Uh-,"

"They're flying away! Stop them! Get low and blast them."

Blindly, Tien followed his orders. It wasn't hard to hide in all this mud, he was already covered in it.

He had just enough time to marvel that any creature could fly in an atmosphere where he was just about keeping his balance before aiming to stop those creatures escape. Who he hit, or if he hit anyone at all, he couldn't tell. Too much screaming, too much noise, too much _mud._ Mud everywhere, the taste of it in his mouth, worms and other disgusting things crawling over his bare arms – he should have asked for the leotard with full sleeves. At least he was more covered than Raditz.

Speaking of Raditz, he and Yamcha were currently running their own covert operation. Raditz was used to taking the high ground, so he and Yamcha had, with great difficulty, climbed one of the mountains near a large city, just high enough so they could aim at it from above. It had been going rather well until a group of people had flown up from the city to try to blast out their assailants.

A rock hit Yamcha on the head as blasts hit them from on high. At least it wasn't raining.

"Alright, this is ridiculous," Raditz hissed. "Listen, you distract them. I'll go around and hit them from behind."

"Distract them? How?"

But Raditz was already gone.

Yamcha whimpered quietly. He was going to die here. Die on this miserable planet for a reason he didn't even know. What a terrible way to go. Would Raditz even bother bringing his body back to Vegeta, back to Fire Mountain so he could be buried next to his parents? Probably not. No, he would rot here, abandoned, forgotten…

 _Okay, deep breaths Yamcha,_ he thought to himself. _Pull yourself together. You are not going to die. Just do what Raditz said. Distraction. Distraction._

Maybe if he blasted the mountain across from them, they would think the attacks were coming from there?

No, they would see the blast. It would just tell them exactly where he was. He had to get them to, oh Gods, he had to get them to go lower, so Raditz could get in a better position to attack.

Lower. Closer to him.

Alright. There was nothing for it.

"Hey!" He stuck his head out and screamed at his attackers. He blasted them, then made a run downwards.

They were right on his tail, but fortunately for Yamcha he had grown up on a mountain. He was surefooted and fast, anticipating grooves and ridges he could grab onto and duck behind. He couldn't outrun people who were flying, but with any luck Raditz would –

One. Two. Three. He could hear them hit their targets. One body landed at his feet.

Raditz was clinging precariously to the side of the mountain, blasting Yamcha's chasers with one hand. There was only one left now. He turned around to face Raditz, but they had the element of surprise – Raditz's attack hit him square in the chest even as Yamcha's caught the back of his head.

Raditz switched on his communicator. "Climb down." He gestured, and Yamcha followed his lead.

They met at the base.

"Oh gods," Yamcha was practically in tears. "That was terrible! I thought I was gonna die –,"

"Timer's going off," Raditz interrupted. "We have to head to the ship."

They'd barely gotten two miles away when the ground started to tremble underneath them.

"What's going on?" Yamcha yelled.

"It's okay! This happens sometimes, from the fighting. Just keep mov-,"

The ground caved.

They both screamed in shock and panic. Raditz was barely able to grab onto the edge; Yamcha was hanging onto him by his boots, now openly weeping.

Raditz kicked him. "Shut up!"

"Do you see how deep this is?!" Yamcha screeched.

Raditz looked down.

Oh. Shit.

Somehow, a giant canyon had formed right underneath them. That would be a nasty fall.

Suddenly Yamcha seemed much heavier than before. And this damn gravity wasn't helping.

"Don't let go!" Raditz called down.

"Oh I'm not planning to!"

He gripped the edge harder, pushing down against his palms in an attempt to lift them both up. But no, he need his feet to get a grip on the canyon wall, and that wasn't going to happen with Yamcha clinging to him.

"Yamcha! Push up!"

"What?!"

"Use your feet and push up!"

He could feel him trying, but Yamcha was holding onto him too tightly to create any real upward momentum.

Just as he was beginning to seriously consider kicking Yamcha off him and saving himself, a pair of strong but very muddy hands grabbed him by the armpits and began pulling them up.

It was Tien, thank the gods, lying on his stomach in the dirt, Jasper straddling him from behind to support his shoulders and pull with him. When Raditz was halfway up, he got off Tien and bent down to pull up Yamcha.

Panting. Raditz on his back, deep breaths. Yamcha on his hands and knees, mumbling silent prayers. Jasper rubbed his back like a parent with his child.

"Is that it? Are we done?" Tien asked.

Raditz sat up slowly and shook his head. "We still have to go south."

"Oh no," Yamcha moaned.

Raditz picked himself up. "I think," he breathed heavily, "we should stay together this time."

* * *

Tien was not happy. He was still covered in mud, because apparently, squad captains got first turn at the showers. Not only that, Yamcha was insisting that he shower _last,_ because he would get mud everywhere and then the shower wouldn't be clean for him and Jasper.

"It's just common sense! But I guess you don't have any of that!"

"I'm not sitting around like this!" Tien gestured wildly at himself, dried mud falling off him in chunks.

"You are such a selfish jerk!"

" _I'm_ selfish?! Look at me!"

"Enough." Jasper's voice was quiet but commanding. He was sitting on his bed, staring at the wall. "Tien will shower first, but he will clean the shower for us."

"Like hell he will! And just why exactly should we listen to you?" Yamcha shot back.

"Yeah," Tien's three eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Just what's your deal anyway? Back on the mission, you acted like you were, like a war general or something. What was that?"

"Wait, what?"

"You shoulda seen him," Tien said to Yamcha. "It was like-," he turned to look at Jasper, "like he'd done this before."

"Really?" Yamcha too was looking at Jasper curiously.

They both stared at him.

"We are a unit," Jasper said finally. "There are no secrets in a unit, and no arguments." He looked at them pointedly. "The truth is that I have done this before. With the Red Ribbon Army."

Yamcha practically fell over stuttering. "The-the Red-Red Ribbon, oh gods-,"

"Wow," Tien whispered. "That's-wow. That's amazing."

"Amazing!" Yamcha screeched. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea," he lowered his voice, "what Raditz will do to us if he finds out?"

"Oh fuck him," Tien snapped. "Fuck them all. These Saiyans think they own us. He drags us out to this fucking place, treats us like slaves-,"

"And the Red Ribbon Army was so great?" Yamcha retorted. "I don't know what you did," he turned to Jasper, "but the Red Ribbon Army treated us worse than the Saiyans ever did. They took over our castle, tied up the Ox King, threw us all in the dungeons. I was four years old, a baby. If it weren't for the Saiyans in Ter-Kader coming up to save us we'd still be rotting in there."

"You're an idiot if you think the Saiyans were trying to save you. They just don't want humans to have power. They don't give a shit about any of us."

"You are both right," Jasper interrupted. "The Saiyans only care for power and for each other. What happens to us, how we live, they don't care about any of that. But the Red Ribbon Army was not better. Our leaders were also obsessed with power, and they were willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to get it. That is why I left."

It was at this moment that Raditz walked out of the shower.

He was toweling off his hair, which was a bit of a process. You had to start from the bottom, wringing out the excess water, then drying out the rest of it with a different, clean, dry towel.

He sat down next to Jasper on the edge of his bed to begin the process.

"What is it?" He looked over the three of them. "Why'd you stop talking?"

Tien was about to say something but Jasper beat him to it. "I have something I must tell you."

"Jasper-,"

"I was once a member of the Red Ribbon Army."

Raditz froze. "What?"

"Ha ha ha!" Yamcha laughed nervously and rushed over to Jasper's side. "What a joker this guy is, huh?" He slapped Jasper on the back and laughed again.

"It's not a joke."

"Jasper! Shut up!" Tien hissed.

"What," Raditz said quietly, lowering the towel to the bed, "are you talking about?"

"I was once a member of the Red Ribbon Army," Jasper repeated. "I left them a long time ago."

"For gods' sakes-,"

"You must listen," Jasper insisted. "After the Army was defeated 15 years ago, some of its members escaped and went underground. I was one of those people.

"After the defeat, what was left of our leadership focused all its energies on making our soldiers stronger than Saiyans. There was a man, Dr. Gero. He thought he could make us stronger by inserting…technological enhancements…into us. They were supposed to be change the way we process energy, to make us faster, stronger, slow the aging process. All these things.

"I volunteered to be part of this experiment," he turned to Tien and Yamcha, who were standing frozen. "That is why I speak in this voice. The things he did to me, they changed how I talk, how I see and hear.

"It was…difficult. There were many times when I wished to stop, but…I had agreed. But then," he stopped, his eyes unfocused, looking as though at something distant. "Then, he brought two children."

"Lapis and Lazuli?" Yamcha asked.

"Yes. He said that he could not make me strong enough. I was too old, but a child would grow with these enhancements, they would be stronger. He," he stopped again. "It was a terrible thing to watch. I could not," his eyes burned with the memory, and his fists clenched against the thin mattress. "I am a man. I made a choice. But these were children, children he stole," his breath caught.

"I took the children and blew up his lab. There were no survivors. I went back the next day and checked. Then I took the children to the farthest place I could find."

There was a long, long silence. Then-

"Do you understand," Raditz said quietly, "what you're telling me? You realize that if _anyone_ finds out about this, you'll be tried for treason and killed?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "If you want to turn me in, I will go quietly."

Raditz took a deep breath. "Oh gods. Oh gods." He put his hands over his still wet head. "Why me?"

No one replied.

"Alright. Alright. No one, and I mean _no one,"_ Raditz said, "talks about this to anyone else. Not your parents, not your girlfriends, not the Ox King, _no one._ If anyone finds out about this, we will _all_ be tried for aiding a known traitor. This conversation _never_ _happened_. Do you understand?"

They nodded.

"Alright. Go take shower," Raditz gestured toward Jasper.

"But I need to-,"

"Shut up Tien! I don't want to hear it! I've heard enough for one day." He stood up and pointed at Jasper. "You, take a shower. I am going to my room, and I don't want to hear anything from any of you until you're ready to go eat." He was panting, face red with a jumble of emotions. He opened his mouth to say something, but stomped off instead.

He couldn't remember having a worse mission.

 **A/N: I wanted to check in with Goku in this chapter, but there wasn't even enough room to get all of Raditz's first mission in! We'll be visiting them again next chapter, but hopefully Goku will make an appearance too. Thanks for reading!**


	22. The God Squad

They ate in silence.

Of all of them, Jasper seemed the least affected by the conversation in their quarters. If anything, he seemed rather genial. He would be, wouldn't he? He'd gotten a huge burden off his chest, leaving Raditz and the boys to bear it for him.

Raditz shot him a death look that Jasper completely failed to notice.

Fortunately for all four of them, Raditz's musings were quickly interrupted.

"Raditz!"

He turned to see Calie running towards him. Before he could so much as move, the teenager had flung her arms around him.

"Raditz, you're here!" Calie squealed. "Oh, I missed you!"

"Oh yeah?" he grinned. "Because you almost got yourself killed, right?"

"Shut up!" she protested, slapping him on the shoulder playfully.

"Here," he scooched down the bench, "tell me what's up."

"Oh." Calie paused, scanning Raditz's new companions uncertainly. "Uh…"

"She doesn't want to sit with us," Tien snapped.

"What?" Raditz turned to him.

"Because we're human," he said, giving her a pointed glare. "She doesn't want to sit with us."

"Wha-no!" Calie sputtered. "No, of course not. That's not it all! I just-," she turned to Raditz, who was looking at her questioningly. "I thought because, you know, you're a crew now, maybe you don't want outsiders sitting with you. That's all!" She met Tien's gaze. "I'm not like that!"

"Well we don't mind. Sit," Tien challenged.

"Good," Calie shot back. "I'll get my food."

A minute later she was back with her tray, plopping down next to Raditz. Yamcha was to his right, with Tien and Jasper on the other side of the table.

"I'm Calie, by the way," she said, pointedly offering Tien her hand to shake.

"Tienshinhan." He shook it.

"Jasper."

"Yamcha."

"Yamcha's from Ter-Kader," Raditz offered.

"Oh yeah? My dad's from there too!"

"Well, I'm really from Fire Mountain," Yamcha said. "It's next to Ter-Kader."

"Oh, I've heard of Fire Mountain." Calie leaned forward curiously. "Have you ever seen the Ox King?"

"He's my uncle!" Yamcha said proudly.

"Really?!" Calie squealed, her voice so high-pitched Jasper had to lean away from her. "Is it true what they say about him?"

Yamcha blinked, confused. "What do they say?"

"You know," Calie waggled her eyebrows lasciviously. "About how he got his name."

"Calie," Raditz hissed, trying to hold back his laughter. He knew exactly what "they" say.

"His name?"

"About his father!"

"What?"

"You know, that his mother…and an ox…," she made a suggestive gesture with her fingers.

Realization dawned.

"What!" Yamcha practically screamed. "What are you-are you saying-no! No, of course not!" He turned to Raditz, who was now officially failing to hold back laughter. "Is that what you think of us?!"

Raditz tried to clear his throat but ended up snorting instead. "Of course not. Calie," he turned to her, trying to be stern, "that's just a story. Obviously."

"Story!" Yamcha had never been so offended. "What kinda story is that to say?!"

"Well then, where does the name come from?" Calie asked.

"It's a _title._ Because we're descended from the Fire God, and he would often take the form of an ox to appear to people."

Tien snorted condescendingly.

"What?" Yamcha snapped. His ego had suffered enough for one day.

"Here we go with this Fire God crap," Tien mocked. "If _you're_ the descendant of the Fire God, then he must've been pretty lame."

"At least _I_ have proof! I have an ancestry that goes back centuries to the very beginning of Vegeta's civilization! What do _you_ have, Mr. Descendent of the Fate God?"

"I've got your proof right here," Tien shot back, pointing aggressively to his third eye. " _Real_ proof, which is more than I can say for _your_ ancestors."

"Yeah, you and a few thousand other people. That's _real_ special, Tien."

"That's because we're not inbred morons like your ancestors!"

"You take that back!"

"So Jasper," Raditz interrupted before Yamcha could launch himself at Tien. "You got any gods in your ancestry?"

"No," Jasper said matter-of-factly. "There are no such things as gods."

Tien and Yamcha began protesting very loudly.

Meanwhile, Calie slouched in her seat. "I really thought the ox thing was true," she pouted.

"He looks like an ox, if that makes you feel any better," Raditz said.

Calie looked over at Yamcha, who was in the midst of a valiant defense of his lineage that was only slightly overshadowed by Tien's recitation of the history of the Fate God and the significance of the third eye. Jasper continued to chew ambivalently.

"How can he look like an ox if his nephew looks like that?" Calie pointed out.

"What do you mean, looks like that?"

"You know," she shrugged, the faintest blush tinging her cheeks. "Normal."

"I'm just telling you what I saw."

The argument raged on.

* * *

It wasn't that his mother was a _bad_ fighter. Goku knew that she was strong, stronger than him. Not as strong as Father or even Raditz, obviously, and her technique was a little rusty from lack of practice. But certainly strong enough to teach him a few moves. It was that she was his _mother._ Every time she so much as touched him, she would immediately bring their training to a halt. Was he okay? Did it hurt? Was he bleeding? Maybe they should take a break.

"It's not real training at all!" he'd complained to Master Gohan.

But even Goku had to admit – and Gohan agreed – that although Master Roshi was a great teacher, he had long ago mastered his curriculum. He had to find another master, someone who would challenge him, push him past his limitations.

That was how he and his mother ended up at a Saiyan town called Daban.

It was a small desert town, and from a short walk through the town center you could tell that it was composed entirely of children and the elderly, a town abandoned by everyone young and healthy enough to leave.

"I don't know about this, Kakarot," Gine said skeptically.

But her son wasn't listening. "This is great! It's so different from home!" He skipped down the path.

They were looking for the home of Master Baru, an old friend of Gohan.

When Gohan had been a young boy, he'd left his mother town and traveled to other villages, learning from different masters and making friends along the way. A few were Saiyan, and the best, he'd told Goku, was Baru, whom he'd spent a year with traveling around the planet. Gohan had written Goku a letter, asking Baru to take on the boy as a student.

And here was his house now.

It was small and rundown, Gine noted. Gohan had insisted Goku include his mother in this journey – without her approval, he'd said, Goku could not go. Right now, Gine's approval was hanging by a thread.

Goku knocked.

A minute passed. Two.

"Maybe no one's home," Gine suggested hopefully.

"No, they're here. I can feel it." He knocked again. "Hello!" he called out. "I know you're in there! Open up!"

The door creaked open just wide enough for a little girl to peek through. She glared at them suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"We're here to see Master Baru," Gine said, giving the girl her best winning smile. "We were sent by his friend, Master Gohan."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Wait here."

A few more minutes passed.

Finally, the door opened all the way. "Grandfather says come in."

She was a skinny little thing, with a cynical gaze beyond her years. Her grandfather was sitting on a heavyset chair in a corner of the small room, bent over an ornate cane, eyes closed in what seemed to be a deep meditation.

The girl motioned to two small chairs, and they sat.

Gine looked around the room. It was neatly but sparingly furnished. Some of this furniture, including the chairs they were sitting on, looked like it had been around for a few decades. The rug on the floor was a of a beautiful material, but terribly faded. It was also a little too large for the room. This, clearly, was the house of the impoverished rich.

A few more minutes passed.

"Is he asleep?" Goku got up to get a closer look at the old man. His face was deeply wrinkled and his head was completely bald, but he made up for it with a very thick white beard and bushy eyebrows. He was clearly well into his hundreds, though, and far as Gine could tell he could just as easily be dead as asleep. If this was Gohan's idea of a teacher…

"He is not!" The girl pushed Goku away. "You can't talk while Grandfather is meditating!"

Before Goku could protest, the man himself spoke.

"Gohan," he rumbled, eyes still shut. "That's a name I haven't heard in many moons."

 _I'll say,_ Gine thought to herself.

Baru opened his eyes slowly and settled an intense gaze on the visitors. "Ruru, prepare some tea for our guests."

"Yes, Grandfather," Ruru said politely, bowing before exiting the room.

Goku gave him a big smile. "Hi!"

"Hello young man. What can I do for the friend of Gohan?"

"Here," Goku dug up the letter from under his tunic top and handed it to him. "Master Gohan says please train me."

"Train?" Baru chuckled as he unfolded the crumpled and slightly damp piece of paper. He held it very close to his face, scanning intently.

"You're not too old, are you?" Goku asked.

"Goku!" Gine admonished. She turned to Baru. "Master Gohan had suggested that Goku could learn a few new skills with your guidance. But of course we don't wish to burden you, so-,"

"No, no," Baru interrupted. "It's no burden at all. I would not turn away a disciple of Gohan. Now tell me," he turned to Goku again, "what have you learned so far?"

Goku recited a list of techniques he had mastered as Ruru returned with the tea. When he was done, Baru nodded.

"Very good. Very good indeed. I'm pleased to see that your training has included the traditional martial arts as well, though I would expect nothing less from Gohan and Master Roshi."

"You know Roshi too?" Gine asked.

"I met him, briefly. Tell me," he continued, "what do you know of the history of the martial arts on Vegeta?"

Goku turned to his mother, confused. "Huh?"

She shrugged. Ruru rolled her eyes.

"The history," Baru repeated. "The traditions, the ancient lore. The history of the masters, the schools. What do you know?"

"Uh…." Goku turned to his mother, unsure. She gave him a tiny shrug.

"Well?"

"Ah," Goku chuckled impishly and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I don't know anything about that stuff!"

Master Baru harrumphed angrily, his eyebrows arching up to the top of his head in disapproval. "I would have expected more from the student of Gohan," he said, his voice gruff, "but alas, this has become all too common." He turned to Gine with a withering look. "I suppose you're hear on vacation from Frieza's army?" His voice dripped with disapproval.

Gine straightened in the uncomfortable seat. "No actually, I work on-planet."

"And the boy's father? Assuming he has one?"

Gine's face reddened. "His father's off-planet."

Baru harrumphed again, shaking his head, his face contorted in disgust. "Shame. No wonder the boy knows nothing of his history and heritage. Who could teach him? _You?"_ he spat. "You yourself know nothing, do you?"

Gine opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't get a chance. "Of course not. Your parents themselves knew nothing. How many generations of Vegetans abandoned their children and towns for the glory of the Colds? Yours is only the latest."

"Hey!" Gine snapped. "We didn't _abandon_ our children, we work hard and put our lives on the line so our children can have decent lives here!"

"What sort of lives are these?" Baru shot back. "Our people had honor, had history, culture, a language whose beauty could bring grown men to tears! Now what do we have? Hmm? Full stomachs," – he poked Goku in the stomach with his cane – "and empty heads," – then smacked him over the head with it.

"Ouch!"

"That's enough!" Gine shot out of her chair and grabbed Goku, holding him against her protectively. "For a man so obsessed with tradition you ought to treat your guests better than this! Why don't you go complain about how high prices are today or about the water rations going on all over the planet instead of taking it on people like us who are just trying to make ends meet? Come on, Kakarot," she moved toward the door. "We're leaving."

"No, wait." Goku pulled back from her, his eyes fixed on the old man who was glaring back at his mother, unmoved. "If you teach me fighting, I'll learn all that history stuff you like so much too."

"What?! Kakarot-"

"Mother, please!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Feel free to use the other room for your discussion." Baru pointed down the hall.

Gine shot him a death glare, then marched her son down the hallway and into a small bedroom.

"Kakarot," she hissed as the door closed behind him. "You cannot seriously want to have anything to do with this man? What are you going to learn from him, how to be a hateful old bas-bum?"

"I'm already learning from him, Mother," Goku said. "I didn't even know there was this history and lore stuff he's talking about. Now I know!"

Gine stared at him incredulously. He was really serious about this.

"He-he's too old," she stuttered. "How's he going to teach you anything?"

Goku shrugged. "Master Roshi's old, and he taught me lots of stuff. And Master Baru's a Saiyan. Maybe he's not so old as he looks."

Gine opened her mouth, then closed it again. Opened again. "I-I-Kakarot, I-this man is so _mean._ You don't like mean people, right?" she said desperately.

"Aw, he's not so bad," Goku chuckled. "I think he's just cranky 'cause we woke him up from his nap."

Gine was speechless. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Don't worry Mother, it's going to be great. You'll see!" And with that, Goku headed back out to announce his decision to the old man and his granddaughter.

* * *

An hour later, Gine was standing with her son outside Master Baru's house saying her last goodbyes.

"Remember, you must call me every single day. Every day, Kakarot."

He nodded obediently.

"My days off are the fifth of every week, so you have to come home on that day, alright?"

"Yes Mother."

"I'm very serious about this, Kakarot. If you miss a call or a visit just once I'm coming straight over and taking you home."

"Don't worry, I won't forget." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"And," she lowered her voice a little, "if that man's ever even a little cruel to you, you come straight home, alright? I won't let you be abused by that awful old man."

Goku nodded again. "Don't worry Mother. "I'm a big boy now, I'm gonna take care of myself!" he said determinedly.

"You're a little boy, Kakarot! I don't know what your father told you," she trailed off, frustration rising. She huffed, then turned back to him. "Kakarot, you must, _must_ promise me that if you ever even think you might need help, you'll call me immediately. Okay?"

"I promise."

He was smiling, happy and excited, Gine's concerns not making even the slightest blip on his danger radar. Not that she thought he had one. But there it was, that gap between them. It had existed ever since the accident, but she'd done what she could to keep it as narrow as possible over the years. Now, it gaped before her, and there was nothing she could do to bring Kakarot across it.

She held him tightly, one final hug before turning back towards Arkisbe. She kept her eyes firmly on the path. One look back would break her.

* * *

"Hey! Look, it's the God Squad!"

Tien turned to see where the shout had come from. It had been some days since their first mission, and the boys, Raditz included, were walking to the Mess Hall from their quarters.

A Saiyan woman strode up to him, eyes fixed on his forehead. "I want you to know," she said very seriously, "that I paid tribute to Our Lady Fate with my grandmother every year during the Heavy Drought. I still do, you know, when I'm on-planet."

"You're not seriously lying to Fate, are you?" the man who had called out said.

"Shut up!" she snapped back at him. She turned to Tien. "I will, this year. When we get back."

"Oh. Uh, good." Tien nodded politely.

She nodded back.

The crew stared at her as she walked off with her partner.

"What the hell was that?" Yamcha said.

"Yes. What is 'God Squad'?" Jasper said.

Raditz shrugged. "Sounds like Calie's been blabbing about you guys." He shrugged. "It's a pretty cool nickname though."

They nodded at each other.

"God Squad!" Yamcha tried it out. "Don't mess with the God Squad!"

"Ugh, you're ruining it," Tien snapped.

"Man, it's like you're incapable of enjoying anything!"

"I don't enjoy your stupidity!"

"Oh gods," Raditz groaned as the two launched into each other. "Come on," he pulled Jasper along. "I'm too hungry to deal with this bullshit."

It would have interested Raditz very much to know that the Hotsu woman with the berry lips he was admiring just a few weeks before had been watching that little exchange.

"So," Kezah said to Lodj, who was standing next to her at their quarters' doorway. "Those are the Saiyans our little princess is training with?"

"Well, not _those._ But yeah, those are Saiyans too."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"Kezah?" Lodj did not like the look on her face. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it's time we take an interest in our coworkers."


	23. The Kids

"Well well well," a sinister voice cackled. "Look what we have here."

Amarah froze in her tracks.

She wasn't supposed to be out in the halls by herself, she knew that. But she was starving, and Tonsa had gone to file some reports and was nowhere to be found. After nearly an hour of pacing around her quarters, stomach grumbling, she'd finally decided to brave the steel halls and make a break for Nappa's room. You could always rely on him to have food.

A warm hand pressed against the top of her head, thin fingers sliding through her hair. She shuddered.

"It's the little princess."

It was Jeice, one of Captain Ginyu's men. His voice dripped with a sinister condescension, and Amarah's body tensed as he came around to look at her, his hand still on her head.

She hated him. Hated his smug face, hated the way he looked at her when they were at Frieza's dinners, hated the snickers he swapped with Burter every time she said something. He'd never gotten this close to her before, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"Isn't she a sight, Burter?"

Behind her, Burter chuckled. "Not really my type, Jeice, but hey, she is a princess."

"Yes." Amarah's voice cracked slightly. She said it again, louder this time. "Yes. I am a princess, and I order you to get out of my way."

"I order you to get out of my way," Burter mocked, and the two laughed.

"I mean it," she said, her hands balled up into fists, body quaking ever so slightly. "Move!"

Jeice shifted position so that he was more firmly in front of her, his wide stance blocking any potential for escape. Behind her, she could hear Burter mimic his moves. "And just how," he said, smile widening, "do you plan to make me?"

Her heart was pounding, but Amarah was determined to stand her ground. She was Hotsu. She would not cower to-to-whatever the hell he was. "You won't hurt me. Lord Frieza would punish you."

"Oh," Jeice leaned down so that his face was inches from hers – she twitched instinctively – "I don't think you'll tell him."

"Tell him what?"

It was a loud, booming voice that Amarah immediately recognized. Nappa!

Relief swept over her.

Jeice got up slowly and turned to look at the Saiyan, who was standing, legs wide and arms crossed, a couple feet away.

"Hey Burter," he grinned, "it's the monkey bodyguard."

As he turned, Amarah took advantage of the new opening and darted for Nappa, ducking behind the Saiyan and hiding instinctively behind his broad legs.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Burter mocked. "The big bad babysitter's got a new little brat to take care of."

"Hey!" Amarah snapped, much braver now that she was safely protected by Nappa's bulk. "How dare you talk to me like that!"

"Don't worry about the big bad babysitter, boys." Nappa smiled genially, but his eyes glinted with suppressed anger. "You just go on your way. You must be busy. We'd hate to keep you."

Jeice smiled right back. "Right, Burter."

The two made their way past them, and as he walked away Jeice turned and smiled at Amarah. "Goodbye little princess. I'll see you soon."

She shuddered.

As soon as they were out of sight, Nappa smacked her over the head.

"Ow!"

"What the hell are you doing out here?!"

"That hurt!"

"Where's Tonsa?"

"I don't know!" Amarah rubbed her head, lower lip pouting pitifully. "I was hungry and I waited and waited but she hasn't come back yet. I just wanted to get something to eat!"

"Listen," Nappa kneeled down and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You do not _ever_ go outside by yourself. _Ever."_

"I know," tears began to well in her eyes, golden irises clouding as the liquid formed. "I know, I was just so hungry, I thought I could be fast. I'm sorry!"

"What would you have done if I hadn't shown up?!"

"I don't know." The tears began to fall. "I don't know! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"Hey, enough of that noise," he barked. "It's bad enough I have to save your ass, I won't listen to you blubber too." He straightened up. "You're a princess and a warrior. You don't cry."

Amarah sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry."

"Good," Nappa nodded. "Alright, let's get you something to eat."

He moved to resume their path down the hall.

"Wait," Amarah stopped. "We're not going to your rooms?"

"No, we're going to the Mess Hall," Nappa said.

"Mess Hall?" Amarah had never been to the Mess Hall before. Hell, a visit to Nappa's quarters was an exciting development.

"Every now and then I like to go into Mess and see the kids." Nappa strode down the hallway, Amarah skipping to keep up with him.

"Kids?"

"Our kids, you know, our troops. The Saiyan fighters," he explained. "I go down, say hello, see how they're doing. It raises morale."

"Oh?" This was a new concept to Amarah, who doubted that her presence would do anything for Hotsu morale. If anything, it would probably reduce morale; half of their contingent thought she was a living curse.

"Plus I like to keep my ear to the ground. See who's doing exceptionally well, who's not. And you never know what you'll learn from the plebs. Sometimes they have useful information."

"Oh." Amarah said. She paused. "Vegeta doesn't want to come with you?"

"Well, you know, Vegeta's a prince. Royalty doesn't associate with the third-class."

She considered this. Time with the Saiyans had taught her a little bit about Vegetan social statuses. "But aren't you first-class too?"

Nappa sighed. "Yes, but I've been on Frieza's ships a long time and I know the value of information. If you wanna know the truth," he looked down at her, "I think Vegeta ought to come with me, you know, support the troops, give them confidence. But that's not really how we do things back home."

Amarah nodded. They continued on.

As they reached the Mess Hall entrance, Nappa headed for the kitchens.

"Hey!" he barked.

A small creature rushed out, bobbing pitifully. "General Nappa, what an honor-"

"Cut the crap. You realize we've got no fruits or vegetables in our quarters? Hmm?"

"Oh, but we just sent supplies yesterday!"

"Am I asking you about yesterday or are we talking about today?!"

"Yes, yes, of course. So sorry, so sorry. We'll have supplies ready right away sir!"

Nappa gave him a disgusted look before turning away towards the tables, Amarah on his heels.

Although Vegeta was technically her instructor, it was Nappa who had taken charge of her training. Vegeta just didn't have the temperament to be an effective teacher. He didn't have the patience to sit and teach her a technique that required her to practice it more than twice, he never adjusted his power level to match hers, resulting in multiple injuries which he never sympathized with.

Not that Nappa was any paragon of virtue. He too was impatient and hot-tempered, but he was worlds better than Vegeta, who was just a powder keg of rage.

Amarah was becoming rather attached to the older Saiyan.

Nappa was stopping at different tables, making small talk with crew captains and slapping people genially on the back. He made a point to introduce Amarah, and the Saiyans all bowed very respectfully towards her.

Despite his egalitarian approach to the third-class, Nappa still virtually ignored the lower ranking members of each crew, focusing instead on captains and second-in-commands. Amarah made note of this.

As they made the rounds, they passed the table where Kezah's crew was sitting.

"You should go greet them," Nappa said.

"What? Oh no, no, I don't really know them…"

"So? You're their princess, you ought to take an interest in their affairs."

Amarah looked back at the table. Lodj smiled at her.

"Um…"

"Go on," Nappa pushed her towards them. "Go, be a princess."

Amarah made her way reluctantly to the table.

They stared at her.

"He-Hello."

"Hello," Kezah said. The rest exchanged curious looks.

"How, um, how is everything?"

"Good."

"Your missions are going well?"

"We're all alive, aren't we?"

Khera burst out laughing, and Amarah blushed.

A few feet away, Nappa frowned ever so slightly. He was in the middle of a conversation, but one ear was following along with Amarah. And he did not like what he was hearing. This was not how you talked to a princess.

"Where's Tonsa?" Kezah asked. She'd turned to Amarah fully now, her whole focus concentrated on the little girl.

"Um, uh. Tonsa is, um, taking care of important work," Amarah said unconvincingly.

"Aren't you Tonsa's important work?" Delmar pointed out.

"Um..,"

"Looks like Tonsa's not doing a very good job," Kezah said. She was smiling as she said it, but Amarah got the impression she wasn't very friendly.

"Such a shame," Khera giggled.

Amarah's face reddened further.

Just as Nappa decided this was completely unacceptable, Kezah switched to Hotsu and he could no longer understand what they were saying. Amarah was speaking again, but not nearly as confidently as Nappa would like.

A few minutes later he was done. He strode back towards the kitchen and yelled some more, then rounded back towards the Hotsu table.

"Are you ready to go?" He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, making a point to shoot critical glances around the table. Then he got to Kezah, and she smiled at him and his glare faltered.

"You must be the famed Saiyan general," she said sweetly, offering a hand for him to shake.

He took it. "A pleasure to meet you."

As they walked away, Lodj gave his captain a curious look. "What the hell are you up to?"

Kezah grinned but said nothing.

They both knew exactly what she was up to.

* * *

Meanwhile, another girl was running down Frieza's halls by herself.

Calie reached Raditz's door, glancing furtively around her and hoping desperately not to get caught. She pounded on the door.

"Raditz," she hissed. "Raditz! Come on, open the door!"

The door opened to reveal not Raditz, but a towel-clad Yamcha.

"Raditz isn't here," he said as she pushed past him, panting in relief.

"Raditz isn't here," he repeated. The door shut behind him.

"Well, where is he?"

"He went down to eat with the others." Yamcha grabbed a smaller towel from the bed and began to dry his hair, which had grown long and unruly in the time he'd spent on the ship.

"Without you?" Calie stared at him curiously.

"I'm not hungry."

"Didn't you just get back from a mission? How can you not be hungry?"

"I don't know!" he snapped. "I'm just not hungry, why is that so hard for you people to believe!"

"Hey!" she yelled back. "Just 'cause you had a crappy mission don't take it out on me!"'

"Why are you even here?"

"We just got back too, but I had to go the infirmary for this." She raised her arm to show him a bandage plastered on the back of her upper arm. "When I got back to our room those assholes had left without me, and the nurse wouldn't take me to Mess. I thought Raditz could walk me."

She looked at Yamcha expectantly. He ignored her.

"I'm starving," she prompted.

He put down the towel and dug out a hairbrush.

"Oh, come on!" she stomped her foot. "Yamcha! I need you to walk me to Mess."

"Fine!" he snapped, throwing the brush across the bed. "Do you mind? I need to get dressed."

Calie turned away from him, rolling her eyes. "I've seen plenty of men naked you know. There's nothing that exciting going on down there."

Silence.

"What's got you so cranky anyways?"

"Nothing." He brushed past her, now dressed in a sleeveless top and shorts. The armor was stored on shelves above the beds – he reached up to grab one.

Calie tilted her head and grinned slyly at him as he pulled it over his head. "You got your ass handed to you, huh?"

"You know what?" he snapped. "You can go to Mess by yourself, how's that?"

Her grin widened. "Wow. Must've been really bad."

He sat on the bed pointedly, lying down, putting his feet up and glaring at her.

Calie was undeterred. She came over and sat down at his side. "C'mon, don't be a baby. It couldn't have been that bad. You look fine."

Yamcha's expression faltered. He sat up slowly. "I," he stopped. "I-I…,"

"What?"

He sighed again, and slowly smiled at her, exposing the front row of his teeth.

Well, most of them.

"You knocked a tooth out?"

Yamcha's face turned a deep red.

Calie burst out laughing. "That's it?! That's what's got you so upset?"

"It looks awful!" he pouted.

She smacked his arm playfully. "No, it doesn't. It's hardly noticeable. You're such a baby."

"Yeah well," Yamcha leaned back and crossed his arms, "I hate it."

Calie rolled her eyes at him. "You're an idiot. You know, girls like it when a guy is banged up a little. Shows he can hold his own in a fight."

Yamcha looked near tears.

"C'mon. I've got scars much worse than that. I mean, look!" she raised her arm again.

He shook his head. "It's-it's not just that."

"What?" she peered at him curiously. "You're homesick?"

He lowered his head in his hands in response.

"I get it. The first time is always awful. My first time, I couldn't wait to get home. Second time's even worse. Day I had to go back, I actually cried, I was so upset. But you get used to it."

Yamcha shook his head again. "You don't understand. You can't-it's, it's harder for me. This place," he gestured widely. "I'm important. Back home. I-I'm the heir to the throne of the Ox King. And here, it's, it's…," he trailed off, shaking his head again.

Calie's playful smile was gone now. "Um…" she patted his leg awkwardly.

"Don't-don't." He pushed her hand away.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"How does this Ox King thing work anyway? He's your uncle?"

Yamcha nodded.

"And you're next in line?"

Nod.

"But how though? What about Womb Law?"

Womb Law, or The Covenant of the Womb, was the oldest law in Vegeta's history, dating back to a time known as the Era of the Golden King. It was so old it was often referred to as the First Law in official documents. Essentially, it codified a matriarchal line of ancestry and inheritance. Under Womb Law, children were named for their mothers first and foremost. Only if a mother formally recognized a man as the father of her child would he have rights to that child or responsibilities towards it. Only daughters could inherit property from their mothers. Sons could only inherit in the absence of sisters. Fathers could not pass property to sons – even in the absence of daughters, a man's property would go to his closest niece before it went to a son.

All this to say that the Ox King's lineage was unorthodox.

"Womb Law doesn't apply to the us," Yamcha explained. "Actually," – he perked up a little – "if you look at the document itself, there's actually three exceptions written in. We're the first, because our kingdom goes back to before the Golden King."

"Wow," Calie said, eyes widening in awe.

"Yeah," Yamcha smiled proudly. "Before there was any of that, the Ox Kingdom already had a comprehensive set of laws. And our laws say that the title and lands of the Ox King have to go from father to son and from brother to brother. So the Ox King doesn't have a son, so I'm next in line."

"What are the other exceptions? Do you know?"

"The second one is for a place called Korin's Mountain. It's basically this holy place, and so the Golden King said that no one could own Korin's Mountain and no one could inherit it. And the third is actually the throne of Vegeta."

"What?"

"Yeah, the first King Vegeta added it on later, because he wanted his descendants to inherit his throne in one straight line regardless of whether they're boys or girls."

"Gosh! You know so much about this stuff."

Yamcha shrugged. "I have to. I'm going to be the Ox King someday." He paused. "Assuming I get out of here alive."

Calie laughed. "You're ridiculous! Now come on," she stood up, "take me to Mess Hall. I'm seriously about to pass out from hunger."

Yamcha got up – he was starting to feel a little peckish now. "How can you be so happy in this place?"

"Life's short, Yamcha." She smiled. "I might die tomorrow, so I'm gonna make sure I have a good day today."

 **A/N: I wasn't sure if I should include a trigger warning for the first part of this chapter. Ultimately, I decided not to since nothing actually happens (and nothing ever will, at least not to minors). However, if anyone thinks I should include a warning please let me know and I will add it. I felt that this scene was important because I felt like the gang were having a little too much fun on Frieza's ship. I think it's important to emphasize that this is a dangerous place.**

 **More of Goku and Raditz in the next chapter!**


	24. Conversation

Three weeks had come and gone since Goku had begun training with Master Baru. The old man had proven to be a tough teacher, although he did have a tendency to fall asleep unexpectedly. Either way, for a man whose ability to actually demonstrate what he was teaching was limited, he was incredibly effective, and Goku had learned a lot in the short time he'd spent with him.

He was also quickly mastering Talpe, the traditional language of Vegeta. Of course, everyone could speak a little Talpe, for religious ceremonies and traditional festivals. It was also a big part of the traditional martial arts vocabulary ("kamehameha" was Talpe). But day-to-day, it had all but been replaced by Galactic Standard, the language propagated by the Cold Empire all across the galaxy.

Master Baru had a strict "Talpe-only" rule in his house, which had posed an interesting problem for Goku. The only reading material available was in Talpe, and although the fantastical legends and stories were incredibly exciting for a little boy, they were also quite a bit beyond his reading ability. So going into his second week, Goku had snuck in contraband in the form of a Galactic Standard children's book.

The book was part of a series called "Sally's Adventures in Space," following a generic looking alien, Sally, as she made her way across a fictional solar system. Goku's favorite was "Sally on Earth," where she participates in a planet-wide martial arts tournament, creams the competition, and then blows the place up.

Under his influence, Ruru had also become a fan of Sally, and as he packed his things for his weekly trip back to Arkisbe, he handed her the book he'd brought last week, "Sally on Neptune."

"Here. You can keep it."

Ruru's eyes widened in surprise and joy. "Really? For forever?"

Goku blinked. "Oh. I just meant for while I'm gone, but yeah, I guess that's okay."

She squeezed the book to her chest in glee. "Thank you! Kakarot, you're the best!"

Goku chuckled. Wasn't it nice to make people happy? "Just make sure you hide it from the old man, okay?"

Ruru giggled. She was only six, too young to be a proper playmate for Goku, but the two had still bonded over their shared low-grade terror of Master Baru.

"Alright." He put in the last of this things in his small bag and snapped it shut. "See you soon!"

Living apart from his family had been an exciting experience for Goku. On the afternoon of the fourth day of the week, he would fly from Daban to another town close to Ta-Neimi, the big town near Arkisbe that hosted the bar Launch worked at and the butchery his mother worked at. From there, he'd take a bus into town, meeting his mother at the butchery as she finished her shift, and then returning to Daban early on the sixth day. That way, he got a day and a half with his mother every week.

Part of the reason he'd began leaving on the fourth instead of the fifth every week was because he'd found that actually, he missed his mother.

He didn't even realize it until he saw her for the first time since she'd left him at Master Baru's. He'd spent the bus ride home thinking about what they'd have for lunch, and by the time he reached Ta-Neimi, he was starved. He flew home and burst through the door, the smell of fish stew wafting from his little house, beckoning him home, and there she was. Standing at the stove, stirring the stew, and she'd turned her head, her face opening up at the sight of him, and he was so happy to see her again that for a second he actually forgot he was hungry.

The extra time also gave him the opportunity to visit Master Gohan, and Krillin and Master Roshi. In fact, he and his mother were at Kame House for dinner this evening.

"Very impressive, Goku." Master Roshi had taken the two boys onto the mainland for a quick training session before dinner, and they had just returned to the island. "Your technique is much sharper."

"Is it?" Gine was sitting the living room, trying to ignore the smoke emanating from the kitchen, where Launch was supposedly putting together the meal.

"You haven't seen him fight?"

"No, I have. But…," she paused. "Master Baru is quite old. His techniques must be outdated."

Roshi shook his head. "That's the problem with you youngsters. You learn a few tricks and you think you know it all. Experience, my girl, is invaluable. Every day I have lived and trained is worth a year of strength and skill." He nodded sagely.

Gine looked down and tried not to roll her eyes. These old men were all the same. Her grandfather had been an arrogant old bastard too.

"You know, Krillin," Roshi said as they joined Launch in the kitchen. "You oughta take a page from Goku's book. Go out there and learn from the school of life. There's no better teacher."

Krillin looked up from his bowl of soup. "What?"

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Goku said. "Krillin, you can come with me! We'll have so much fun together, it'll be great!"

"Um…"

"Now wait just a minute here," Launch, blonde today, snapped. "Krillin's not going anywhere without my say-so."

"You listen here girl," Roshi wagged a finger at her, "Krillin's my pupil. When I was his age I traveled the world learning to fight from the greatest martial artists-"

"Like Master Gohan!"

"Exactly! And I wouldn't be the man I am today if I hadn't done that. Now Krillin," he turned to the boy, "if you're really serious about being a true martial artist, if you really want to reach your full potential, you need to get out of Arkisbe and see what else the world has to offer."

"Yeah!" Goku was practically jumping up in his seat. "C'mon Krillin! It'll be so much fun, you'll see! I'm having a great time!"

Krillin considered this. "But I don't know any Talpe. Is it hard to learn?"

"It's a little hard, but I'm learning it. And you're a lot smarter than me."

Krillin nodded. That was true.

"Then it's settled."

"Like hell it is!" Launch slammed a fist on the table; the cutlery shook with the impact. "I said no!"

"You be quiet Launch!" Roshi said. "It's Krillin's choice, and-"

"Krillin doesn't get choices without me! I said-"

Gine lowered her head and focused on her stringy shrimp, trying to pretend an argument wasn't raging four inches from her meal. In truth, she rather liked the idea of Krillin going to Daban with Kakarot. Sure, he was human, but he was a hell of a lot more responsible than Kakarot had ever been. He could watch out for him.

Yeah. That worked out pretty good actually.

* * *

How Kezah had figured out when Amarah had her sessions in the training room was a question Lodj didn't even bother to ask. He knew better by now.

And when Kezah had asked him to come with her so that they could "bump into" the Saiyan general, he had gone without a fight. He knew better by now.

The real question was, did Kezah know what she was doing?

Kezah and Tonsa hated each other. They had been in competition from the day they came out of their pods, and with her latest promotion to Chief of the Royal Guards and a seat at Queen Selardi's ear, it had seemed that Tonsa had finally bested her long-time nemesis.

But Kezah was not one to go quietly into that good night.

For years she'd stewed with resentment, unable to do much besides make petty jabs at her superior officer. When Frieza had come, and with him the birth of Amarah, Lodj had tried to placate her. See, he'd said, all that hard work just to be a glorified babysitter on an alien ship.

It was a small vindication, but it wasn't enough. Which was why Kezah immediately signed up for duty on Frieza's ship.

It was her duty, she'd told the Queen, as one of the highest-ranking officers, to provide support and backup for Tonsa on what was potentially a hostile alien stronghold. And as a soldier, she could gain a better, deeper understanding of the culture, whereas Tonsa would be hampered with the child.

What she didn't say was that it would also be a perfect opportunity to upset Tonsa's standing with the Queen.

Lodj had tried to dissuade her from this course of action, but Kezah was incredibly stubborn, and anyway she refused to admit she was up to anything at all.

"I'm just curious about these Saiyans. I don't want Tonsa learning some new technique while I'm sitting around killing time with you."

"Kezah…"

"Shh!"

The door opened, and General Nappa turned to see who was coming in.

"Oh!" Kezah fluttered her lashes apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize this room was occupied."

Nappa smiled politely. "That's alright. We'll be done in a half an hour."

"You don't mind if wait here then, do you?" Kezah was already striding towards the control pod where Nappa was sitting. She pulled up a chair and motioned to Lodj to do the same. He scowled at her.

They observed quietly for a few minutes. Amarah was sparring with Vegeta while Tonsa hovered nearby. She was struggling to maintain the offensive. Concentrating on maintaining the form of her ki while at the same time anticipating and blocking his attacks was too much for her to handle.

"I have to say," Kezah said suddenly, "that while your ki attacks are primitive, they do appear to be much more efficient than our own."

"That's just Amarah's inexperience," Lodj said. He was practically pouting, arms and legs crossed sullenly. "Anyone from our crew could match his moves hit for hit."

"I doubt that," Nappa said, turning to look at Lodj. "Prince Vegeta's going very, _very,_ easy on her. He's not using even a quarter of his true power. You wouldn't last long against him."

Lodj rolled his eyes.

"And you shouldn't talk about your princess like that."

Lodj and Kezah exchanged confused looks. "What?"

"You just called her by her name. That's Princess Amarah to you." Nappa glared at them. "It's not just here. The other day, in Mess. You were very disrespectful."

The two Hotsus stared at each other in disbelief. Then they stared at him. Then back to each other.

Then they started to laugh.

"Just what the hell is so funny?"

"I'm sorry," Kezah smiled. "It's, it's just such a strange thing for you to say. I don't think we were being disrespectful at all." Lodj nodded. "We were quite nice to her."

"Did she complain to you?" Lodj asked.

"No, of course not. She's a princess. But I know what I saw. You talk down to her."

"She's a child," Lodj said.

"She's a _princess,"_ Nappa repeated through gritted teeth. "One day she'll be your queen. Would you talk to your queen they way you talk to her?"

Lodj and Kezah exchanged looks again. There was no way to tell Nappa that Amarah specifically would never be queen without blowing the whole show, but they could at least clarify one thing.

"We would never talk to our queen that way because she is our leader. She has served our people for nearly 100 years. She has worked and trained and proven herself to be the smartest and strongest among us time and time again. She has earned our respect and admiration," Kezah said. Are you seriously saying that we should extend that same respect to a ten-year-old child for no other reason than the circumstance of her birth?"

"You can't respect your queen if you don't respect her heir," Nappa replied. "It's that simple."

"But what you're saying, really, is that a person's worth is determined by their position in life, rather than by their actions."

"Your actions are determined by your position. Take Prince Vegeta," Nappa gestured to where the two royals were sparring behind the glass. "He is one of the strongest men in his class on our planet. In a few years he will be _the_ strongest. He represents our planet to the Cold Empire. He serves in his army, sacrificing his well-being in order to secure our position in the Empire and to help meet our trade obligations to Lord Frieza. But that's all _because_ he's the prince, first and only heir to the Vegetan throne. No third-class scrub could ever serve our people the way our Prince does."

Kezah nodded slowly. "I see. It seems we organize our societies very differently. We believe in neutral birth. On Hotsu we are all created equally. Our skills are honed based on our innate talents, and it is up to each person to rise through the ranks and prove themselves worthy of respect."

"But skills and talents come from your parents, from their genes," Nappa pointed out.

"Oh!" Lodj's eyebrows arched up as understanding dawned. "You're basing your whole philosophy on these, these organic concepts of 'bloodlines' and 'parentage'." He shook his head. "That's really very primitive of you, you know. We've done away with all that. I don't think they even teach that stuff in organic biology anymore, do they?" He turned to Kezah, who shrugged in response.

Nappa's blood was boiling with indignation. How dare these, these, these, _Hotsus,_ insult him, his people, his civilization, _to his face?!_

He just had one quick question before he let them have it…

"What do you mean you don't teach parentage and bloodlines anymore? You don't teach genetics? Biology?"

"Oh no, of course we teach genetics and biology. But this 'parent' thing isn't biology. You know," Lodj said in the face of Nappa's utter bewilderment, "when the female genetic contributor and male genetic contributor breed exclusively with each other as part of a societal organizational structure, so that they perpetuate the same genetic patterns in multiple offspring, who then pass on those same patterns in a limited geographical space to create an organic social structure-"

"Oh yeah!" Kezah interrupted suddenly. "I remember this now! This is the mother-father sister-brother thing, right?"

"Yes!" Lodj snapped his fingers and pointed at her in triumph. "That's what it was called!"

"Ugh, I haven't thought of that in decades! They don't teach it anymore?"

"Zhera told me they don't do organic biology at all. It's not part of the general curriculum anymore."

"Really? Well, I suppose that makes sense," Kezah said. "It is pretty useless unless you're going into Health Science, or maybe Nurture."

A loud, crashing bang interrupted their discussion.

Nappa's fist had punched straight through the training room's control panel.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

Before they could respond, an angry voice crackled over the intercom that connected the control room to the training room.

"Nappa what the fuck!" Vegeta yelled.

The general turned to find that the lights had gone out and the temperature control had gone off, a particularly dangerous thing when you're floating in the middle of space.

"Damn it," he hissed.

Kezah and Lodj exchanged sheepish looks. Whatever she'd had planned for this excursion, this wasn't it.

 **A/N: I made a mistake in the chapter where I first introduced the Hotsu Queen. She should be 180 years old, not 80. I'll go back and change it later, but just now that that is what I'm going with from now on.**

 **I really wanted to have Goku travel, because it's a big part of his training in the original Dragon Ball, and I thought it would be a fun way to explore the planet and the different cultures in it. I also want him to get that bonding time with Krillin and Bulma, so Bulma's gonna be back in the next couple of chapters to join the fun!**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	25. Dance of the Shari-Pari

He burst through the door, tripping over his own feet as he half ran, half flew down the hall of the Ox King's castle.

"Yamcha!"

Up the stairs, round the corner, pulling of his GFA boots as he stumbled into his room, throwing a boot at the door to push it closed as he pulled his pants down, tripping and landing on the four-poster bed…

"Yamcha!"

It was the Ox King himself, barreling through the door, arms open wide and a ridiculous smile on his face.

"Yamcha! You're here!"

"Uncle, I'm getting dressed!"

"Oh, I'm so happy you're home!" The giant man wrapped his teenaged nephew in a bear hug, squeezing him as he desperately attempted to wriggle out of his shirt.

"Uncle! I'm not gonna make the festival!"

"Safe and sound!"

Finally, Yamcha gave up. "I missed you too, Uncle."

"Alright!" The Ox King let his nephew go, and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Get dressed quick! You're going to be late for the festival."

But Yamcha was already rummaging through his closet, trying to find a decent-looking tunic-and-pant set to wear to preside with his uncle and cousin over the festival's special dance.

Four months had passed since he'd first left Vegeta, and it was only as they were preparing to leae that Yamcha realized what day it would be when they got there.

The Shari-Pari Festival dated back longer than anyone could remember; the Ox King liked to joke that the Shari-Pari had invented Fire Mountain, rather than the mountain inventing the festival. Every year as summer made Vegeta even hotter than it was normally, a kaleidoscope of butterflies would come up the mountain to seek shelter in its cool breeze and shady trees. And every year, the Ox King and his Household would prepare to great the Shari-Pari, the spirit of the butterfly, to its summer home.

It was one of the more enjoyable responsibilities of the Ox King.

It was also one of the more expensive ones. The palace was in a tizzy of preparation, putting up last minute decorations, arranging fairy lights, and perhaps most importantly, preparing the food, little bites of patties and cakes that would feed not just the entire population of Fire Mountain, but something like half of that of Ter-Khader as well.

Yamcha had given himself the quickest of baths, just enough to get the smell of stale sweat off him, put on one his better outfits, doused himself in cologne, and was now scrambling down the steps to the castle foyer, where young men were lining up and putting on their drum straps. Girls were tuning their flutes and fixing their braids. Chi Chi was standing with the group, twirling around in a poofy, sparkly dress. Nearby, Lapis and Lazuli stood watching the preparations intently.

"Okay, it's time to go!" The Ox King was lumbering down the stairs, right behind Yamcha. ''Everybody read? Let's go!"

The marchers, all between 14 and 16, formed two lines, alternating boys and girls. They began to drum a beat, marching down the entrance, through the door and out into the beautiful sunny morning.

Outside, and unbeknownst to Yamcha, his teammates, along with Calie, were waiting for the procession to start. Raditz, who'd attended the festival a few times when he was a kid, had decided he wanted to check it out again, and Jasper was heading for Fire Mountain anyway, because of 'the children.'

It had been Calie's idea, actually. Was the festival fun, she'd asked. She'd never gotten to go, because her mother didn't get along with her father and wouldn't allow her to visit him in his home town when she was a kid. Wasn't that sad? They should go. They could call Gine on the way, she could meet them there. Wouldn't that be fun?

Oh, and Tien didn't have anything better to do.

So here they were, squeezed between the crowd waiting for the festival to start. They were soon joined by Goku, Gine, Krillin, Launch, Master Roshi, and Master Gohan, who'd all rallied to Raditz's call.

Goku was jumping up and down excitedly, trying to get a better view through the crowd. "This is so cool! I've never seen this part before!"

"Oh look!" Krillin exclaimed. "Is it starting?"

The musicians had stopped abruptly, parting from each other to make room for the Ox King, Chi Chi, and Yamcha. The Ox King was carrying a heavy bell, and he rang it, once, twice, three times.

There was a lull, and then a young girl appeared from behind the Ox King.

She was a human girl, about 14, tall, with tan skin and thick, black hair piled on her head in an elaborate braid and pinned down with bright, sparkly pins. She was dressed in a bright pink tulle dress that covered her feet and hid soft, flat shoes. Strapped to her back were two paper mache butterfly wings, huge and bright and covered in intricate patterns of blue and pink and lilac and yellow. Her face, arms, and indeed every other exposed part of her body was doused in glitter.

Delighted cheers went up from the crowd.

"It's the Shari-Pari girl!" Goku cheered. "Look, Krillin, can you see? The Shari-Pari girl!"

The two boys were now hovering over the crowd in order to get a good look at the source of the jubilation around them.

"What does the Shari-Pari girl do exactly?" Launch, blue hair tied up in a bun on her head, asked.

"She doesn't really do anything, as far as I understand," Gine said. "Bardock explains it better, this isn't really my culture. But it's basically, every summer the butterflies come back up the mountain, and so to welcome them you have this big festival and you dress up a girl to be the Shari-Pari and she reenacts it, basically."

"The butterfly represents the warmth and brightness of summer," Master Gohan added. "The girl represents the Shari-Pari, the spirit of the butterfly. Only when she returns to the mountain can summer begin."

"But she's already on the mountain," Krillin pointed out.

"Ah, yes, well." Gohan paused as he considered this point. "Well, you see, uh, she's going to come down and then go back up. That's the part that counts."

Krillin gave him a skeptical look.

The music started up again, and the Shari-Pari girl's procession began marching through the crowds and down the main street of the town of Fire Mountain, down the mountain, towards Ter-Kader.

"Did you know you could come up here and watch the procession from the start?" Raditz asked his mother. Tien and Calie had moved to the front to get a better view, and Jasper had long ago straight to the castle to find Lapis and Lazuli.

Gine shook her head. "I was just going to wait at your grandmother's for them to get down like we did the last time, but then Master Gohan said we ought to come up and see the show from the mountain."

"So you've never seen this part before?" Calie had popped up from behind them.

Raditz shook his head. "I wouldn't have come up if mother hadn't told me to."

"Look, there's Yamcha!"

Yamcha was still standing at the foot of the castle with his uncle and cousin, even as the procession moved away from them.

"They're not going down with the Shari-Pari girl?" Calie asked.

"Oh no," Gohan said. "The Ox King and his family must wait on the mountain to welcome the spirit of the Shari-Pari to her summer home. If she comes home and no one is there to greet her, why, she might get upset and leave and never come back."

Goku laughed at that, and Gohan winked at him.

As the procession made its winding way down the mountain parts of the crowd had begun to follow, clapping and cheering to the beat of the drum and the rhythm of the flutes.

"Do we follow them?" Tien asked.

"Yeah! The whole point is the dance that happens in Ter-Kader," Raditz said.

It was a long way down the mountain. Particularly when you were part of a large group, half of which was kids under the age of 15, and most of which were dancing to the music behind the Shari-Pari girl, who was skipping down the path.

When they finally got to Ter-Kader the whole town was out in the streets, and the procession was greeted by cheering and whooping Saiyans.

Goku was having the time of his life. He'd only ever been to the Shari-Pari festival twice before, and those times he'd watched from the sidelines, waiting outside his grandmother's house for the procession to arrive. His father had put him on his shoulders so he could see what was happening, but no view could beat the one he was getting now. The Shari-Pari girl was right in front of him! In the crowd he could really only see her legs, but it was somehow more exciting than seeing her full figure from a distance.

The procession stopped in the middle of town. The crowd began to move away, and the musicians quickly formed a circle around the Shari-Pari girl.

Silence fell over the crowd. It was time for the dance.

Every year the girl chosen to be the Shari-Pari practiced for months ahead of the festival. She had to get the dance exactly right; the slightest mistake would be noticed by a people who'd be watching this dance for a thousand years.

It was an intricate dance that followed the winding path of the flute music, drums beating steadily in the background. The steps were meant to symbolize the Shari-Pari's previous existence as a caterpillar, squirming, lonely, desolate, as it searched for a home. Finally it wrapped itself in a protective cocoon – and here the Shari-Pari girl fell to ground dramatically.

Like most of the children attending, Goku and Krillin were lying on their stomachs between adult feet, the better to see what was happening. She was curled up like a ball on the ground, her wings covering most of her torso and her arms over her head.

"What happens now?"

"Shhh!"

The flutes were silent, and the drummers began to beat louder, faster and faster.

 _Ba da ba da bum, ba da ba da bum, ba da ba da bum_

One minute passed, then two, and then finally, the Shari-Pari girl raised her head. Slowly, she began to lift herself up from the ground, arms unwinding slowly and pushing against the ground, eyes closed, chin pointed upwards, until finally she was on her knees, torso lifted up towards the sky.

The beat sped up.

Slowly, she spread her arms.

The primary sun of Vegeta was high in the sky, big and bright and warm, with only a few errant clouds blocking its light. It sat atop Fire Mountain, blazing red where the rays hit the rocks. The secondary sun was moving towards it, closer and closer, until a surge of light fell onto the Shari-Pari girl's face, bouncing of the glitter and colorful rays of pink and purple and blue.

It lasted for a few seconds, and then the primary sun began to move away.

The Shari-Pari girl opened her eyes. And the crowd cheered.

Summer had come, and the suns drew the Shari-Pari home to the mountain.

Applause, whoops, cheers, laughter – the sounds of joy filled the air as the Shari-Pari girl stood up and turned towards them, smiling and waving proudly.

And then the music picked up, a different song this time, louder and faster as the musicians themselves began to dance. The boys leapt in the air as they beat their drums, the girls twirled, one group throwing their flutes in the air like batons while the other kept the music going, and then alternating. Children joined, clapping and singing and dancing wildly as they made their way home, to Fire Mountain.

It was another couple hours by the time they returned. The Ox King's castle was decorated in even more colored lights and paper mache streamers, the path to it now covered in colorful confetti. The Ox King himself stood prominently in front, ringing his golden bell as the procession approached. Next to him, Yamcha and Chi Chi stood smiling and waving.

Here was a second dance, a dance of homecoming. The Shari-Pari girl presented herself to the mountain's guard, curtseying to the Ox King, who took her hand. Together, they danced. The Ox King's large feet were surprisingly limber with years of practice, and he matched the teenager's every sprightly step.

He twirled her, once, twice, and then suddenly he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into the air for the whole crowd to see.

"Welcome home!" he bellowed, and they cheered.

It was officially summer.

Raditz had never seen this part of the ceremony – he'd only ever attended the parts that happened in Ter-Kader – and was just now realizing that he was one of a fairly large group of Saiyans that had come up the mountain, mostly children.

"Where'd everyone go?" Tien said suddenly.

They'd lost pretty much everyone in the crowd. Jasper they hadn't seen since he'd gone to look for the twins. Calie too was long gone. Goku and Krillin had been in and out of his line of sight all day, and Master Gohan had disappeared in Ter-Kader. His mother hand been standing right next time during the first dance, but was now nowhere to be seen. Launch had sneezed on their way down and he hadn't seen her or Master Roshi since.

He shrugged. "They'll turn up. Let's get something to eat. Look, they're passing out food."

Sure enough, the servants of the Ox King's household were making rounds through the town square with huge platters of piled high with chicken legs and sweet rolls, fish cakes and meat patties, rice rolls and vegetable pancakes.

It was around one of these platters that they found Goku and Krillin, harassing a woman for pancakes.

"Here!" the frazzled woman said, throwing the platter at the boys. "You've got the whole thing! Now stop following me!"

"Thank you!" Goku and Krillin squealed in unison.

Raditz and Tien came up to them. "You know they have tables, right?" Raditz pointed to where picnic tables had been sent up around the square.

Slowly, the original group began to trickle towards the table the four had settled on. Gine found them first, squeezing herself between her two sons with a plate of meat patties. Launch, back in blue hair after having apparently sneezed several times (and looking very disoriented) came over with Master Roshi, followed by Calie.

"This was so much fun!" Calie said, reaching across Raditz to help herself to some chicken.

"Yeah!" Goku agreed. "How come we never did this part before?"

"We did! Didn't we?" Gine gave her sons curious looks as the two shook their heads. She knew she'd done with this Bardock a few times before, and she could've sworn they'd had the kids with them at least once.

* * *

 _"I'm glad we made it in time for the festival." Toma put his arm around his best friend's shoulders. Bardock grinned. The two Saiyans were standing on the edge of Fire Mountain's town center, munching on vegetable pancakes and observing the crowds of people eating, singing, and dancing._

 _"Look, even your mother's having a good time."_

 _"She looks like she's yelling at that lady."_

 _"Exactly!"_

 _They laughed._

 _Suddenly, Bardock felt a finger poking him in the ribs. He turned._

 _"Hi!" It was Gine, in a bright yellow dress of all things, smiling broadly._

 _"What are you doing here?"_

 _Her smile fell. "Gee, Bardock, it's nice to see you too."_

 _"I invited her," Toma piped up. "I thought she'd want to, uh, get to know our culture better. Plus it's fun. Right?"_

 _Bardock stared at him incredulously. Toma gave him a hopeful grin._

 _"It does look like fun!" Gine was scanning the square. "Ooh! Are those rice cakes?" She disappeared in the direction of a food platter._

 _As soon as she was out of sight, Bardock stomped on Toma's foot hard._

 _"Ow! What the hell man!"_

 _"What the hell_ me _? What the hell_ you _!"_

 _"C'mon man, I'm doing you a favor. Don't look like that." Toma put a hand on Bardock's forehead and attempted to smooth out the deep frown lines on his friend's face. Bardock slaped his hand away, and the two smacked at each other ineffectively for bit._

 _"Seriously man," Toma said when Bardock had finally pushed him away in a huff. "It's so pathetic, you pining away like this-,"_

 _"I am not pining! Jeez, I can't tell you one thing without you turning it into a big deal!"_

 _"Look, all I'm saying is, she's single, and we both know how long it's been since you -," here he waggled his eyebrows – "you know. So, ya know, why not?"_

 _"You know why not," Bardock snapped. "I don't sleep with girls on my crew."_

 _"Bullshit. We never even had girls on the crew until Gi. Except Fasha, and she doesn't count."_

 _Bardock blushed._

 _"Oh look, she's coming back! Okay, just be nice. Ask her to dance or something, okay?"_

 _And just like that, he was gone. Leaving Bardock standing there with his mouth open like an idiot._

 _He'd barely been gone 10 seconds when Gine popped up again. "I'm back! Where's Toma?"_

 _"He, uh." Bardock stared at her. "He…left."_

 _"Oh." She looked down at the three beers she was carrying, smushed up against her chest. "Huh. Well, more for me I guess!" She smiled. "Here, take one."_

 _The two walked around for a little bit, the festival thankfully offering a topic of conversation for Bardock to focus on. Eventually they settled down at an abandoned picnic table strewn with empty beer cans, crumpled napkins, and bun crumbs._

 _"It's a big deal, being the Shari-Pari girl, huh?" Gine said._

 _"Well yeah. It's the whole point of the festival."_

 _"No, I mean," – she took a gulp of beer – "look at her." She pointed to the Shari-Pari girl, standing in the center of the square, giggling and twirling and dancing, the glitter on her skin rubbing off and falling at her feet. She was surrounded by boys and girls, wanting to dance with her, take pictures with her, hold her hands, touch her hair._

 _"I mean, when's she ever going to get this much attention again?"_

 _Bardock laughed. He'd had a couple more beers and was in a good mood. "Ya know," he said, leaning in towards Gine, so close now that their shoulders touched, "I got a kiss from the Shari-Pari girl once."_

 _He turned to look at her, a huge, self-satisfied grin on his face. Gine laughed. "What?"_

 _"I was seven," his cheeks began to flush a little with the memory, "and she was all dancin' around and stuff, and one of her hairclips fell out. So I picked it up and went over and gave it back to her, and she said I was a sweet boy and then she kissed me." He grinned. "Right here," and he pointed to his nose._

 _"That's," Gine paused. She was smiling, but this was such an unexpected side of Bardock that she didn't quite know how to respond. "And you still remember that? After all this time?"_

 _"Well, it was a big deal." He was blushing still, but now it was more embarrassment than pleasure. "Not everybody gets kissed by the Shari-Pari girl. It's like, like getting kissed by the Queen."_

 _"Really?!"_

 _"Well maybe not," he paused, then doubled down. "No, yeah. Yeah. It's like getting kissed by the Queen. More, even. Better."_

 _"Huh." She stared at him, head tilted to one side curiously, mouth parted slightly._

 _Bardock turned away. He was feeling silly now. She wasn't from here, she wouldn't understand. And it_ was _silly. He shouldn't have said anything._

 _"Which one is she?"_

 _He turned back to her. She was scanning the crowd again, shading her eyes from the bright light of the setting suns._

 _"What?"_

 _"She must be here somewhere, right? The girl who kissed you? She must still live here, right?"_

 _"I-I don't know."_

 _"Oh, come on. You're telling me you never bothered to look out for her, not once in all these years?"_

 _"It-she's not the Shari-Pari girl anymore, so what does it matter?"_

 _"So she takes off those fake wings and all of a sudden she's not special anymore?"_

 _"Yeah! Look, it's, it's just a dumb, dumb thing people do just 'cause they've always done it. She's not special, she's just a dumb kid-"_

 _"You just said kissing her was like kissing the Queen!"_

 _"Because I was a dumb kid too and I didn't know any better, I thought she really did have special powers and that she really was bringing back the butterflies or whatever, okay!"_

 _"But you said-"_

 _"I didn't say anything, alright?" Bardock snapped. The flush was gone, and whatever softness the alcohol had given him had worn away. "Just drop it."_

 _Gine slumped back against the table and pouted at her beer. Toma had promised Bardock was a lot nicer to hang out with as friends, but he was just as much of a jerk here as he was off-planet._

 _"Turn around."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Turn around."_

 _She turned._

 _"Not so obviously!"_

 _"What?"_

 _He shifted around, pushing one leg onto the bench and turning back to place his can casually on the table. She mimicked his moves._

 _"If you look slightly to the left," he said, eyes focused resolutely on the can, "there's a bunch of women standing in a corner."_

 _Gine tilted her head slightly, casually directing her sight towards the women._

 _"The one in the middle, second to the left."_

 _She was slightly taller than the other women she was with, with long dark hair falling across her chest, dark skin and thick, full lashes framing large, round eyes. She was holding a baby._

 _Gine turned back to him, grinning from ear to ear. "She's pretty."_

 _Bardock blushed. "I just noticed her there. Just random. Whatever."_

 _He turned around again._

 _There was silence as the two finished their drinks. Then…_

 _"Let's dance." He stood up, looking at her expectantly._

 _"What? You mean like that?" Gine pointed to where couples were performing what to her looked like a complicated step dance._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"I don't know that dance."_

 _"I do. It's easy. Come on." He motioned with his hand impatiently._

 _She hesitated. "It's just…"_

 _"What? If you don't want to-"_

 _"I want to, but, I mean, can you? Dance?"_

 _"I just told you I can."_

 _"Okay." She gave him her hand, then paused. But before she could change her mind, he'd pulled her up to her feet and was all but dragging her to the square._

 _"Here. It's heel-toe, heel-toe, step-2-3-"_

 _"Oh, this is hard-"_

 _"-toe, step-2-3, and turn-"_

 _"You're going too fast!"_

 _"That's the beat, Gi, you have to go with the beat!"_

 _She tripped, her hands slipping out from his as she fell against him. He caught her forearms and pushed her off gruffly._

 _"You're drunk," he accused._

 _"Oh, and you're not!"_

 _"At least I can stand!"_

 _"You're going too fast, I told you!"_

 _"That's the beat!"_

 _The drumming stopped abruptly, and instead flutes picked up a different tune. Slower, softer._

 _"Oh here," Gine said, relieved, "this will be easier. Okay," she took his hands. "Let's try again."_

 _Bardock's face was beet red. "This isn't, um. This is the wrong music, it's not the same dance."_

 _"Oh." She turned to see what everyone else was doing. Couples were snuggling up against each other, a few particularly drunk ones grinding together inappropriately. One of those couples consisted of Toma and an unfamiliar girl. "Oohh…"_

 _She dropped his hands and they stood there, blushing, awkward, embarrassed._

 _Gine searched desperately for an out, and she found one._

 _"Oh hey, there's your Shari-Pari girl." Sure enough, the woman who'd kissed Bardock as a boy was swaying in the arms of a man, her husband probably._

 _She grinned. "Are you jealous?"_

 _"What?! No!" Bardock glared at her, but deep down he was relieved that they'd gotten off this dancing thing. Stupid Toma. He was never taking his advice again._

* * *

As Gine was trying to remember the last time she'd been to the festival, Jasper appeared, his "children" in tow.

"Hello," he offered. He nudged the twins towards the table, motioning for them to sit down.

Raditz gave them an encouraging smile. When he'd seen them back home, they looked tough, hard, defiant. Up close, they were two scrawny little kids, quiet and vulnerbale in the face of so many strange adults.

Roshi began to make small talk, asking them how they were enjoying their time with the Ox King. Lapis, the boy, was the more responsive of the two, answering questions and offering information, while his sister, Lazuli, was mostly quiet. She was sitting between her brother and Krillin, who offered her a pancake.

"Here. It's really good." He smiled.

She looked at him, and something about the gaze made his heart beat a little faster than usual. She took the pancake from his hand quietly and nibbled at the corner. If you looked really closely, you could almost see her smile.

Almost.

"Where's Master Gohan?" Goku asked suddenly.

"And the other boy, what's his name?" Gine added.

"Yamcha," Calie snapped. "He's over there." She pointed to where the young man was standing, surrounded by a gaggle of girls and a couple of guys who were hanging all over him.

He was clearly greatly exaggerating his role in some epic battle story, flexing his biceps subconsciously from time to time as his tale took a particularly exciting turn. His audience was eating it up.

Raditz laughed. "Who knew Yamcha was such a stud?"

"Oh yeah," Lapis piped up. "Yamcha's a real big deal here. Everyone's always like, 'oh Yamcha, Yamcha used to do this, when Yamcha was here we never had to worry about that, Yamcha always woke up early, that was Yamcha's favorite bowl'…"

"Bowl?" Jasper asked.

"He broke it," Lazuli explained.

"You broke Yamcha's favorite bowl?"

"No!" Lapis protested unconvincingly. He shot his sister a nasty look, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "It was a accident," he told Jasper. "Honest!"

"I cannot believe you would behave so poorly as a guest in another's home."

"I can't believe Yamcha has a favorite bowl," Tien smirked.

"I can't believe he's still standing there!"

Everyone turned to stare at Calie, whose frowning face was rapidly starting to blush under their questioning looks. "It's just that it's, it's rude! I mean, we're his friends and his guests, and he hasn't even bothered to come say hello."

"Does he even know you're here?" Gine asked.

The group exchanged uncertain looks.

"Well, this is a very important occasion for him," Master Roshi said. "He has an important role here, and we have to respect that. He'll come to us when it's appropriate."

"That's very well said."

"Master Gohan!" Goku squealed.

Sure enough, the old human had appeared behind them. Next to him was Goku's grandmother, looking even more annoyed than usual.

"Gine," she glared at her daughter-in-law. "I see you came all this way, and yet you didn't bother to come by. Hmmph."

"Oh no!" Gine scrambled out between the bench and the table, chasing after her as she harrumphed away. "Oh, absolutely not, I mean, I kept telling the boys, you know, we really ought to see Grandmother, but you know how children are…"

Meanwhile, Yamcha was dancing with the Shari-Pari girl in all her glittery glory. They were performing the same dance she had done with the Ox King, a simpler step dance where man and woman matched each other's steps, holding hands lightly and turning at intervals in tune with the drumbeat.

When it was over, he bent down and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Then he turned and caught sight of his friends.

He waved.

Raditz waved back. Calie scowled.

"Hey guys! I didn't know you were coming." Yamcha smiled, leaning over Raditz to grab a leftover pancake. "Are you having fun?"

"Not as much fun as you," Raditz grinned. "That girl's gonna be talking about you for the rest of her life."

"Huh?" Yamcha turned around. Behind him, the Shari-Pari girl was jumping and squealing with her girlfriends, clearly thrilled at the simple kiss.

"Oh yeah," Yamcha blushed. "Yeah, I mean, it's part of the Ox King's job to, ya know, dance with the Shari-Pari girl and stuff, so I figured I should too. I mean, that'll be me someday."

"You really just can't wait to get your inheritance, can you?" Calie was giving him a poisonous look.

He froze, pancake still in his mouth. "Um…"

"Geez Cal," Raditz laughed. "Let the kid have his fun." He turned to Yamcha. "I think she needs a drink, get her to loosen up a little."

"Oh yeah, sure, no problem." He caught a serving woman's eye and motioned to her. "I'll make sure you guys get all the drinks and snacks you need."

* * *

Six hours had passed. The suns were beginning to set and the crowds had wound down to almost nothing. Raditz and co were long gone, and Yamcha was walking the grounds, a little ways into the forest now, picking up trash and waking up sleeping drunks and sending them home.

This was the less glamorous part of being the Ox King, maintaining the mountain, protecting its people. And sometimes, maintaining the mountain meant cleaning up litter, and protecting its people meant making sure they didn't spend the night in the open.

"What are you doing?"

He turned. Calie was standing, the darkening sky casting a shadow over her face that hid her features.

"Oh, it's you. I thought you left."

Calie came out of the shadows. Her face was slightly flushed, and she seemed nervous. "I'm still here. Do you need help?"

"Yeah, sure." Yamcha gestured around the forest, where a few cans of beer were still strewn around. "You can just throw 'em in here," he waved the garbage bag in his hand.

They picked up trash quietly for a few minutes. A soft breeze rustled through the trees. A flute played in the distance.

"Oh! Yamcha, Yamcha!"

He dropped the bag and ran over to where she was standing behind a tree, giggling manically. "What? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Look!" She was holding out her hand, and in her palm a tiny golden butterfly fluttered gently. "It worked!" she said breathlessly. "The dance worked! It really worked!"

Yamcha grinned. "Well yeah, 'course it worked. It's worked every year from a thousand years."

The butterfly flew away, and Calie turned to him. He was watching the butterfly make its path into the forest until it was enveloped in the darkness.

She put a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to her and smiled.

She lifted herself onto her toes and kissed him.

He stared at her, stunned.

She kissed him again. And again. And again.

"Whoa, whoa, hey," he mumbled against her, catching her arms and pulling them away. "We can't-if anyone sees…"

"So let's go somewhere no one will see," she grinned mischievously, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her, deeper in towards the forest.

"Wait, wait," Yamcha hissed. "We'll get in trouble!"

"Not if we're quiet!" She leaned in to him and kissed him again. "Come on. I like you. You like me too, right?"

"I-I-," He stared at her, uncertain, unbelieving. "It doesn't matter, we can't do this-,"

"I won't tell anyone if you won't." More kissing.

"This is such a bad idea."


	26. Bar Fight

Calie sat, slumped and staring at the bar. She'd come in with Raditz, who had spent a half hour talking her ear off about strategy and defense, and was now in the bathroom.

What she was staring at was Yamcha, who had come in a few minutes ago and was leaning against the bar, talking to a pretty blue-haired girl she didn't recognize. The girl giggled at something he said, and she felt like she'd been slapped in the face. She fumed. How dare he stand there and openly flirt with some, some bar girl! Of course, they were sitting in a corner to the side, and since Yamcha had come in from the front entrance he wouldn't have seen them, but didn't that make it worse? One night he spent kissing her and the next he turned to the first floozy available?

Just as she was trying to will him to choke on his own jokes, she saw Raditz make his way towards them, slapping Yamcha on the back and leaning forward to say something to the bar girl. Then the two men made their way to her.

"Hello," Yamcha smiled, nervous.

Calie nodded, trying to seem nonchalant. Why should she care about him anyway?

"Sit, sit," Raditz motioned. "I was just telling Calie, and you should hear this too, that a successful mission depends on planning. But you can't plan for everything, and that's what sets the good warrior apart from the great warrior."

He launched back into his speech.

Yamcha nodded along obediently. Over the course of their months together on Frieza's ship, Raditz had taken on a big brother-type attitude with his little crew. He seemed to get a deep sense of satisfaction just from going through the motions of leadership, as though checking things off some kind of internal responsibility checklist.

Then he felt something warm on his thigh.

He shifted and caught Calie's eye.

She smiled.

He blushed.

Raditz continued to talk, oblivious.

Just as Yamcha was starting to really worry about his ability to contain himself, Calie's soft strokes turned into a vicelike grip. She dug her nails in hard, and he held back a pained squeal. Desperately trying to distract himself and blinking away tears, he forced himself to focus intently on a point just beyond Raditz's head.

Suddenly, he became aware that someone, a man, was looking at him, walking straight towards him actually.

Yamcha's eyes unfocused for a second. The man winked.

Before Yamcha could react, the man had grabbed Raditz's whole head, stuck his face right up against his and gave him a very wet and undignified raspberry.

"Fucking!" Raditz spat, pushed the man, who was now laughing hysterically, away.

"Daiken, for fuck's sake!"

Calie was laughing too, and the man walked around to her and ruffled her hair. "You want one too?" he teased.

"No!" she squealed, still laughing. "Get away!"

He grabbed her face anyway, squeezing it playfully. Raditz, improbably, had started laughing too.

Yamcha just sat there, mouth open like an idiot, and feeling like one too. The man winked at him. "What about you, cutie?"

"Hey, stop that," Raditz said between laughing pants. "Get away from him, he's only 18."

"Old enough," he teased.

Daiken was a notorious flirt who had a reputation for chasing anything with a pulse. He was also what you might call devastatingly handsome, with thick dark hair that spiked outwards, creating an attractive wave instead of a messy flop. He was Fashe's only child, part of a circle of Bardock's crew's children – they were like cousins; despite the wide range of ages, they were connected by the bond that had formed between their parents over time.

As Daiken took his seat next to Calie – prompting her to let go of Yamcha – Launch approached the table with two beers on a tray.

"Thank you, Launch," Raditz said, smiling. She gave him a tentative one back, gently putting his mug in front of him. Ever since the incident with his friend, she'd basically treated him like something she found on the bottom of her shoe, but about a week or so before he'd left on his first squad captain mission she'd started to thaw a bit. He wasn't sure why, but he'd take it.

Launch turned to Yamcha and gave him a much bigger, warmer grin. "Here ya go, drink up!"

He smiled back, aware of Calie's glare burning into the back of his neck. "Thanks, Launch."

"And you two?" she turned to Calie and Daiken. "What can I get ya?"

Daiken gave her a lascivious grin. "You can get me a lot of things, sweetheart."

Her friendly face didn't falter. "So a couple beers, how's that?"

"Yeah, that's fine Launch, thanks," Yamcha quickly interjected before Daiken could follow up on his line. When she was gone, he turned on him. "Come on man, be cool. She's just doing a job."

"What's it to you? Is she your girl?"

"No, but we're friends. I've known Launch a long time, she's got enough problems without strange guys hitting on her all the time."

Daiken opened his mouth to respond, but paused, taken a back just slightly. An awkward silence sat between them.

"How do you know her?" Calie said suddenly.

"I used to live with them. Her and her brother and uncle, I mean. Master Roshi, he's a famous martial artist. I trained under him for a couple years."

"Oh."

Another silence.

"She, uh, seems really nice."

"She is!" Yamcha said enthusiastically.

"Well-,"

"Well what?" Yamcha turned to Raditz, who was giving him a skeptical look.

"I mean, you gotta admit, the girl's nuts."

"Hey! She has a condition, it's not her fault."

"I'm not saying it's her fault, I'm just saying it is what it is."

"I can't believe I've never been here before." Calie grinned widely, hoping that this interjection would be enough to change the topic.

For a few minutes the group caught up with each other, Daiken regaling them with tales of his latest exploits. Then music started up.

"Oh! I love this dance!" Calie squealed. She grabbed Yamcha, pulling him off his chair. "C'mon, let's dance."

Before he could protest, Yamcha was being dragged to the center of the bar, where the tables had been moved to the sides to make room for step-dancing. The teens fell into step, and Calie leaned into him so that the surrounding dancers couldn't hear them.

"What's with you and that girl?" she whispered.

"Launch? I told you, we're just friends," he whispered back.

"So, you've never…"

"No, she's like a sister to me. And she's older than me too, she's like 20. Is that why you tried to rip my thigh out?"

Calie grinned mischievously. "That's just so you know not to two-time me."

Yamcha blushed. They danced.

* * *

"Hey, hey." Daiken had been in the middle of a story when he suddenly got up, pushing away from his seat, "what the hell is going on?"

Raditz turned. Some guy, a Saiyan he didn't recognize, had pushed himself between Yamcha and Calie. Calie was pulling at him, trying to get him away from Yamcha, and saying something – she was angry, but the guy was ignoring her, talking to Yamcha instead. Then he shoved him.

Raditz and Daiken were there in a moment. "Hey, what the hell man?" Raditz shoved him away from Yamcha. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Fuck off," the man said. "This is between me and him."

"There's nothing between me and you," Yamcha shot back. "You're not my keeper, and as far as I know you're not her keeper either."

"Hey man," the guy shoved his finger in Yamcha's face, "when I see a dirty human like you with his hands all over one of our girls you can bet your sorry ass I'm getting involved."

"Hey!" Raditz pushed him again, harder. "Watch your mouth!"'

The man shoved him back. "Get out of my face. I know you, you're that fucking _qissan_ -lover who-"

But Raditz had his face in a vicelike grip before he could finish the sentence. "Say that to me one more time," he hissed. "I dare you."

"That's enough!" It was Launch, standing on a table and looking ready for a fight, despite her blue hair. "You want to fight, take it outside. You know the rules." She jumped off the table and marched over to them. "Come on, outside. All of you, now."

"I'm not about to take orders from a girl like you," the man spat. "And you'd better watch how you talk to me. You people are starting to forget your place, and it's because of people like you," he pointed to Raditz.

"What fucking year are you from?" Raditz said, bewildered. "You're the one who'd better watch how you talk to her. I don't know where you're from, but we don't stand for this kinda crap around here, got it?"

It was then that the man threw a punch. Raditz blocked it and threw his own, pushing him back into the table behind him.

"Hey!" Launch yelled, forcing herself between them. "I said no fighting! Outside right now!"

"Out of my way," the man said, moving towards her. Raditz grabbed her around the waist, trying to pull her out of his path, but before he could Launch had pulled out a blaster and pointed it directly in the man's face.

"I'm not going to say it again," she said. "Take it outside."

The man snorted. "Get that pea shooter out of my face."

She pulled the trigger. The blast was the size of the man's head, and it slammed into him with a force that sent him flying into the wall. It cracked, and screams went up in panic and shock.

The bar's owner, Master Ero, a fat, balding little man, came running in from the back. "What, what, what is happening here!" he stuttered. "There is no fighting here, absolutely no fighting! You, girl!" he pointed an accusing finger at Launch. "What, what, what has happened?

Launch put her hands up defensively, the blaster having magically disappeared. "I told them not to fight, Master Ero, but they wouldn't listen."

"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely unacceptable." He elbowed his way into the crowd, pushing his small glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Look at the mess you've made!" he gestured to the broken tables and chairs, destroyed in the short struggle. "Terrible, terrible, terrible! I've told you, told you, told you, no fighting in here. None absolutely!"

"We're very sorry, Master Ero," Daiken said, trying placate the old man.

"No, no, no!"

While Master Ero was having his fit, Raditz watched Yamcha and Calie leave out of the corner of his eye. He followed them.

They were standing under a streetlight, talking. Calie was holding Yamcha's hands, her face earnest and comforting. Yamcha was staring at his feet.

Raditz walked up to them and put a hand on Yamcha's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," the teen rubbed his head. "I'm fine."

"Don't let that idiot get to you."

"Yeah, no. I just, I've never heard that word out loud before."

"Well, you're not gonna hear it again, alright?"

They exchanged small smiles. It was a promise Raditz couldn't keep and they both knew it.

"Look, you go home, just relax."

"No, no," Yamcha said. "I can't. After what happened with Launch, I can't leave her by herself."

"Don't worry about Launch, I'll take care of her."

"No, you don't understand, I have to-,"

"I do understand," Raditz interrupted. "I will take care of this. I promise. You guys go home. Don't worry about anything but yourselves, both of you."

Yamcha nodded slowly. "Thank you," he whispered.

Raditz ruffled his hair affectionately.

* * *

"Hey Launch!"

She turned, surprised. Raditz was getting up off the ground. Was he waiting for her?

She stiffened.

"Come on," he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you home."

"No, thanks," she pushed his hand away. "I'm fine."

He sighed. "Look, Yamcha asked me to, okay? He's worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about. I've had worse nights."

"You sure about that? You think you're just gonna walk away from this?"

"If you're worried about someone following me home, then I've still had worse nights."

It was Raditz's turn now to stiffen. "What do you mean, you've had worse nights?"

She crossed her arms. "I've had guys try to follow me home before. They don't get too far."

He leaned in to her, lowering his voice. "This is not the same thing. We need to talk about what happened, and I am not leaving until we do. Alright?"

She took a deep breath and relented. "My car's out back."

They'd been driving for about ten minutes before Raditz realized they were going in the wrong direction.

"Where are we going?" he said, turning in the passenger seat. "This isn't how you get to Kame House."

"We're not going to Kame House. We're going to my house."

"Your house?"

"Yeah, my house in town."

"You have a house in town?"

"Of course I have a house in town," she gave him and incredulous look. "I'm from Arkisbe. Obviously I have a house, my mother's house."

"Oh. Right."

"I go there when I have late shifts at the bar because it's closer, and because I don't want to wake up Krillin and Uncle Roshi."

Raditz nodded. For some reason, it had never occurred to him that Launch had a house actually in Arkisbe, but it made absolute sense. It was weird though. He felt like he'd been let in on a secret he shouldn't have been. He wondered if Kakarot knew about this house.

It took another 20 minutes for them to reach the mystery house. Launch parked the car outside the entrance and got out, not waiting for Raditz. She was just closing the door when Raditz's big hand reached out and pushed it open again.

"Don't be rude," he snapped, shutting it behind him and reaching for the light switch. "I'm trying to help you here."

"I don't need your help."

"Oh yeah? Do you know what's going to happen now?" He was right in her face. "You are going to get reported for illegal possession of a weapon."

"How do you know it's illegal? I could have a license."

"Do you?"

Silence. Her face flushed.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. And even if you did have a license, it's not for that thing. I've seen blasters before. You've done something to this one somehow, so that it can do, do," he gestured widely, "that!"

Launch huffed. She took her little backpack off and threw it on the couch nearby. "What do you want, Raditz?"

"I want the blaster."

"What?! No way!"

"Look, tomorrow you are going to have the governor's officers all over you, this house, Kame House. When the find that thing, and they _will_ find it, you are going to be arrested, sent to Kingdom Center, and hanged for accessory to treason. That's what they do to humans with unlicensed weapons."

"I've shot guys before. No one's ever reported anything."

"Yeah, that's because no Saiyan is gonna admit that he got his ass handed to him by a human girl, but it's not that guy who's gonna report you. There must have been 40 people in there. A lot of 'em aren't gonna like the idea of a human carting around a weapon like that, and they're gonna talk."

"I…," she pushed her palms against her temples, her nails digging into her scalp. "I can't give it to you. I need it."

Raditz sighed heavily. "Look, it'll only be for a couple days, just until this thing blows over." He reached out to pat her comfortingly on the back, but she flinched away from him. "I'll walk you home, if you want. There's nothing for you to be scared of."

"I'm not scared!" she snapped. Huffing, she dug into her shorts pocket and pulled out a dino cap, popping it open to reveal the blaster. It was a small, slim, harmless-looking thing, with a black body and a red handle. It just about fit in her hand, but it was weighed down by a bulky cylinder with blinking colored lights, an obvious intrusion on the otherwise delicate blaster.

So that's how she'd hid it so quickly. Raditz grinned. "What's that thing called anyway?"

"It's just an ordinary blaster," Launch said. She unhooked the cylinder. "This is a Cosmic Fusion Blast Enhancer. It's a Class 3 restricted firearm, and it's dangerous if you don't know how to work it. You should probably keep them separate."

"You know a lot about this stuff," Raditz said. He took the enhancer, weighing it in the palm of his hand. "Where'd you get these from?"

"None of your business," she snapped. "You'd better not break them with your giant hands."

He laughed, then put the two separate pieces back into their capsule and dropped it into his pocket. He headed for the door.

"Oh, Launch?"

She was standing with her back to him, arms crossed and back stiff. "What?"

"You're welcome."

The door shut quietly.


End file.
